Verizon has replaced my early model Tour with a balky track ball. I want to make sure that I move all of my third party applications and set up from the old device to the new one.

Any suggestions on the right way to do this will be welcomed.

On the Desktop manager do a backup and restore...If you want to ensure your 3rd party apps are on there; go into the advanced tab and manually move over the apps you want..

Backup/restore does NOT copy third party applications.

If you're going to have both devices on hand at the same time, use the Switch device wizard.

If not, run the backup as you normally would. This will backup all of your data/settings (not your third party applications).

To back up your third party applications, follow these steps: How do I backup my Third Party Applications on my BB? - BlackBerryFAQ

Once you receive the new device, restore your backup file to get your data/settings on the new device. Then follow the steps in the link I provided above to restore your third party applications.

Either this is MORE misinformation from you or I am missing something. Could you please show me where Backup/Restore > Advanced allows me to backup my third party apps? Let's just say Opera Mini for example.

No there is no option for that. Only time you see that is if you do and OS upgrade before it starts it will list that it will xfer them over as well. Regular backup does not include third party stuff.