Now that I have working install, do I need to resubmit my characters (that should still be about, or can I just, login in? I'min now to make sure my toons are there, at the moment)
No need to resub. As long as you have not requested their deletion, your characters should remain available.
Yeah, what Acacea said! I was gone 8 years and 2/3 of my characters were still on the server. At the time I asked the same question and they said no problem!