1. If you wield a ranged weapon can you use if for melee attacks? (beat someone with a short bow) and if not can you make unarmed attacks at melee range? (while wielding a Ranged weapon)
No. You can make unarmed attacks while wielding a ranged weapon, though. Also note that some ranged weapons are also melee weapons, e.g. daggers, throwing axes, shortspears, tridents etc.
2. Can you make unarmed attacks of opportunity? do they provoke another attack of opportunity from the original attacking party? (seems a little redundant doesn't it) and can it be done while wielding a ranged weapon?
You can make AoOs with an unarmed strike if you have the Improved Unarmed Strike feat. In that case, your AoOs don't provoke AoOs of their own. The Improved Unarmed Strike feat basically allows you to always threaten the 5' area around you (more if you are larger than medium size). You also get all of these benefits without the IUS feat if you wear armor spikes.
3. The Katar or Punching Dagger also leaves me with questions: is it a zero handed weapon? can i be holding it at the same time as firing a bow? can I attack with no penalties while also wielding a bow? (keep in mind the bow is in my off-hand) When I kill someone with it will it be as cool as Assassin's Creed?
The picture should make it abundantly clear that, of course, you need a hand to wield the Katar. Also, nowhere does it say that you don't, so why do you assume so? This means you cannot wield it while wielding a bow - or rather, you can hold a bow in one hand while attacking with a Katar in your other, but you must drop the Katar to use the bow.
It will probably not be as cool as Assassin's Creed. Hopefully, it will be less boring, though.
4. If i am the party's scout should i roll Listen/Spot/Move Silently Checks constantly? if not how would I account for them? if so how frequently should the checks be made?
This is entirely up to the DM. You can say that you try to be constantly on the lookout, and then, should you be surprised, you'd be entitled to calling your DM a dick (unless he rolled your Listen/Spot check in secret).
Seriously, this issue is a difficult problem to tackle. The best solution is probably to roll a lot of d20s at the start of the session, let the DM note the results in order, and tell the DM your relevant statistics. Then, at any time when there would be something to spot/listen to/sense the motives of, the DM just looks at his list, and if your pre-rolled check succeeds, tells you what you perceive.
5. On an un-related note, The 3.0 handbook mentions a partial charge as a partial action, what does this entail?
A partial action (which doesn't exist in 3.5, but did in 3.0) is the action you can take when all you're allowed for your turn is a standard action. This comes up in surprise rounds, and when you're slowed. Basically, partial action = standard action, and that's all you can do on that turn.
Tangent: a partial charge is a standard action that consists of moving your speed and attacking, taking a -2 penalty to AC for 1 round, while not gaining a bonus to your attack roll. A partial charge can only be made whenever you can only take a partial action.
6. If I am a Rogue (Ranged Scout, you might be able to tell from previous questions XD) Do you personally think being a human is worth the extra feat? I don't think skill points will be too important for the campaign and I'm also considering Going elf.
Humans are almost always among the best races possible for all intents and purposes. The bonus feat is huge except in E6 games (where it can still be good to fulfill prereqs, for example), and the bonus skill points are invaluable for a skill monkey. You might think a Rogue's 8 skill points/level are good, but in fact a Rogue is among the most skill-strapped characters possible, because there's so many you're trying to max.
7. If you have weapons hidden on your person before you are captured, how do you determine how easy they are to find? do you make sleight of hand checks when they search you?
SRD said:
Sleight of Hand
[...]
You can hide a small object (including a light weapon or an easily concealed ranged weapon, such as a dart,
sling, or
hand crossbow) on your body. Your Sleight of Hand check is opposed by the
Spot check of anyone observing you or the
Search check of anyone frisking you. In the latter case, the searcher gains a +4 bonus on the
Search check, since it’s generally easier to find such an object than to hide it. A dagger is easier to hide than most light weapons, and grants you a +2 bonus on your Sleight of Hand check to conceal it. An extraordinarily small object, such as a coin,
shuriken, or ring, grants you a +4 bonus on your Sleight of Hand check to conceal it, and heavy or baggy clothing (such as a cloak) grants you a +2 bonus on the check.
It would seem you make the Sleight of Hand check ahead of time, then note down the result for comparison with your captors' Search checks. Note that a really thorough search (more than just a frisking) ought usually to find everything hidden on your body - your DM might not even bother with taking 20.
8. I assume weapon finesse can be used on any weapon (but reading weapon descriptions sometimes makes me question it), why not have a melee rogue with a longsword? and If you do plan on being ranged, is it worth using up a feat to get weapon finesse on your secondary? (punching dagger/dagger/shortsword)
Weapon Finesse only works on light weapons and on weapons whose description specifically says so. Weapon Finesse is an OK feat in my book. Note that even a pure archer needs some strength, or his arrows do all of mostly nothing. You don't want to stay within 30' of your target for sneak attacks all the time - 30' is really close, so your career as a ranged guy might be rather short. Ranged characters also need some flexibility where weapon style is concerned, I think, so the Quick Draw feat might be a good investment.