first of: i don't think i do qualify as i2c guru.
i have however succeded in getting a pic to talk to various i2c peripherals with the help of http://www.piclist.com/techref/microchip/16f877/snipp.htm !
maybe start at "INIT_I2C". i did come to like the in system debugging capabilites of th PIC16F876. you can get (or make) a fairly cheap ISD (In System Debugger) which helps alot, as you can (in system) single step thourg your code, watch variables and set one breakpoint.
hth