Hey JNK! :) Welcome to the forums.
I'm sorry there was a slight delay.
Allaah/God Almighty says in His final revelation - the Qur'an:
Say to the Unbelievers, if (now) they desist (from Unbelief), their past would be forgiven them; but if they persist, the punishment of those before them is already (a matter of warning for them).
[Qur'an 8: 38]
Allaah, the Most Merciful also says:
“O My slaves, all of you are astray except those whom I guide, so ask Me for guidance, and I will guide you. O My slaves, all of you are hungry except those whom I feed, so ask me for food and I will feed you. O My slaves, all of you are naked except those whom I clothe, so ask Me for clothing and I will clothe you. … O My slaves, if the first of you and the last of you, your humans and your jinn, were to stand on a single plain and ask of Me and I were to give each one what he asked for, that would not cause any loss to Me greater than what is lost when a needle is dipped into the sea.”
Narrated by Muslim (2577).
The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said: Allah the Almighty said:
I am as My servant thinks I am. I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assemble better than it. And if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw near to him a fathom's length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.
It was related by al-Buhkari (also by Muslim, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn-Majah).
Regarding the issue of the tattoos, then that isn't your fault since you didn't really know it was forbidden before,
`Amr Ibn Al-`As narrates, “When Islam entered my heart, I went to the Messenger of Allah and said, ‘Give me your hand so that I may pledge allegiance to you.’ The Prophet spread his hand, but I withdrew mine. He said, ‘What is wrong `Amr?’ I said, ‘I want to make a condition.’ ‘And what is that?’ he said. I said, ‘That Allah will forgive me.’
Then the Messenger of Allah said, ‘Did you not know that Islam wipes out what came before it, and that Hijrah (emigrating for the sake of Allah) wipes out what came before it and that Hajj (the pilgrimage) wipes out what came before it!”
(Recorded in Sahih Muslim)
To become a muslim, all you have to testify is to the following, now that you're reading this - if you're willing to. Just read the following out aloud:
I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah (God), and i bear witness that Muhammad is the servant and final Messenger of Allaah.
Now in arabic: :)
Ash hadu an laaa illaaha ill Allaah, Muhammadun Rasool Allaah.
Once you say this, you've become a muslim and Allaah has forgiven all the mistakes you've done before! :) And you've joined the family of Islaam, a family of 1 billion people in the world! And without a doubt, those who believe, and obey Allaah and His Messenger - there reward is nothing less than Paradise.
After this you should have a bath because you're like a new born baby - sinless, and we can teach you how to perform the 5 daily prayers maybe? :) And you can go to the Masjid/Mosque which you were talking about and get hold of a copy of Qur'an.
We look forward to your posts and stay brother, and if you ever have any questions - please don't hesitate to ask! :)
Peace.