Okay. I haven't played harldy any CRPG's before, I played a bit of Baulders Gate but didn't like the UI or other systems specific to it's age.

I'm downloading this game and don't really know what to expect. I need some help please. What do I do first? What class, what race? anything I should keep in mind?

Thanks! I want to love this game and it's genre but I'm going to need some help

There's a problem inherent in your request for help: asking other people how you should play your game will inevitably result in it not being your own experience, and this will seriously work against your aim of wanting to love the game. Really, you should take the time to read the rules and if you're not bothered about spoilers, maybe watch a let's play to get some idea of how the game works. Then you need to understand that games like this are not key mashing action games -- you need to take your time; use the tools you have and get into a tactical mindset. Rushing will get you killed and frustrated, and you'll end up hating the game. Make it your own from the start, but above all have fun.

As you didn't like the BG games, Play in the most easy setting first, and read the manual or the descriptions once you are making your character.

That's the best advice really. Put it on the easiest setting until you get your bearings and turn it up if you start finding it too easy.

Just make the kind of character you want to play, go with a balance of the recommended stats and have some fun.

Choose your class/race/attributes based on what sounds appealing to you.

This game is much more forgiving with character generation than Baldur's Gate. There are no real trap choices here - every character that you can create, is viable. Though of course each will play a little differently, so read the description to see what suits your style.

Another reason why the main character build is not that important, is that you'll eventually have a whole party (6 characters at any one time, but you can have several more on roster and switch between them at inns). This includes both scripted companions, and custom ones that you can create ("hire" in return for money) at certain places.

One thing to keep in mind though, is that stat checks in conversations always check the main character's attributes, no matter who initiated the conversation.
The most common stat checks of this kind are, in this order: Resolve, Intellect, Perception.

So if you play these kinds of games for the role-playing rather than just the combat, and you love to read more text and have more options during dialogs, you might want to consider that when building your character.
There is some redundancy though - i.e. often you'll be able to get a similar result if you have a high score in one of those "dialog stats". No need to have a high score in all three of them.

Back when I was new to RPGs myself (around the time of Baldur's Gate) I approached them the following way.

1. Make your initial character. Try to to pick the attributes/skills that make sense but don't worry too much about getting things wrong.
2. Spend a few hours playing with that character. Get a feel for how things work and what's important, especially in combat.
3. Start from scratch with a new character.

This results in a few hours of repeated gameplay, but gives you a pretty good idea on how to build your proper character.

In addition to playing it how it appeals to you, I also recommend starting over a few times once you get a better feel for things and a better understanding of the characters.

My only advice would be to ignore backer NPCs (yellow name plates) and to not read tombstones.

Tombstones have a lot of 4th wall breaking backer messages scribbled on them. Backer NPCs contain just too much text which doesn't add anything to story or world building.