Hi Tod Stroszer,
Even I am preparing for my SCJP..
Apart from the books you have mentioned I am also going through "A Programmer's Guide to Java SCJP Certification" by Khalid Mughal, Rolf Rasmussen . The Mock Test at the end of this book is good.
- Regarding the self tests in the SCJP6 book.. I donot know about the difficulty, but it sure took me 3 attempts to get the perfect scores.
- Trying the code in NetBeans helped me but for the 10 Chapter I felt better after compiling/executing code using javac/java to get all the ClassPath and directories right.
- The MockExams that came in the DVD with the SCJP6 book are great, you can also try certPal. Its the third one in the list
SCJP Mock Tests
I am also trying to download and do
ExamLab. I read that its much harder than the real exam though.
Hope this helps.
Kakani.