transfer all songs on dell mp3 to ipod

I just got a 30G video ipod and was informed that i could easily transfer all the music from my dell mp3 player to my ipod without having to go through all my cds re-downloading all my music to my computer first....however after a couple un-successful hours my ipod is still empty. anyone have any suggestions? at one point i got the playlist of my songs to show up in itunes but it wouldn't/counldn't sync to the ipod. i need help! i don't want to return the ipod but i also dont have 40 hours to spend re-download hundreds of cds.