Yeah they really do help.  It makes it possible to pull up, on the upstroke.  You also put more poewr to the drivetrail when you go over the top or pull back (12-3 & 6-9) because your feet don't slip off.
 
What size shoes do you wear Jim?  Dave has a set of Keen Commuter spd sandals he's willing to sell.

The Keens Dave has are 12.0 but you are welcome to try them on if you like.

If you learn to use toe clips, it will introduce you to one aspect of clipless pedals: You feel more secure on your bike.  You don't realize how much of the time you spend trying to keep your feet in the proper place on the pedals until you learn to ride with them secured.  And if you hit a bump and have your feet come off the pedals, well, tou know how that can hurt!  Also, it makes you ready for clipless because it is almost impossible to adjust toe clips so they don't hurt your feet.  
 
Bike shoes have a very stiff sole.  This allows all your pedal pushing to go directly through the sole to the pedal, instead of being wasted in deforming the shoe.  It also allows you to relax the feet when pushing.  Many riders who complain of foot pain and cramps on longer rides are trying to grab the pedals with their toes, monkey-like, even through the shoes.  I know I struggled to train myself out of that.  The combination of confidence and efficiency going clipless should add one to two mph to your average speed.  Also, we who have adopted them enjoy the spectacle of the novice clipless user.  

Quote from rmillay on Apr 16^th, 2012, 3:59pm:

 
Heck, some of us experienced riders are still entertaining our fellow riders by falling over clipped in. Raise your hand if you are one of them. I'm raising my hand, how about you, Bob?    

I was a rookie last year, now I'm a novice....My favorite fall was one that no one saw....I'd been really careful the whole 12 mile ride, I was tense but everything went great. As I rolled up to the garage at home I was all relaxed and confident, and casually unclipped my left foot as I braked to a stop....Only trouble was I forgot to lean to the left...so at 0 mph I gracefully toppled over on my right side flailing around with my left foot to no effect. Nothing damaged but my pride!  

Quote from Tiger_Mike on Apr 16^th, 2012, 9:06pm:

 
LOL!  That sounds like my very first 'bent commute.  I lived in IL, and was only 5 miles from work.  The old Infinity was working just fine and I felt great!  Good roads in combination with bike paths allowed me to cruise to work without stopping for about 4 and a quarter miles.  Finally had to stop at the light right before the big hill climb to work.  Put on the brakes, put my foot down...and my leg just didn't seem to work!  I fell right over at the light and almost couldn't get up!  That's when i realized what was meant by 'bent legs...  good thing it was about 6:45 in the morning...no one was around!

Tried out the Frog Speedplays today with the Keen sandals...what on earth was I so worried about!?  It's going to take some getting used to and maybe some minor adjustments but no locking in, no falling over, EASY to un-clip.  Now it will just be ptice to make it second nature.  Feels a bit funny on the placement, but it's as far backas it can go.  So fortunately so far no clip in falls.  Just have to remember to get out in time to stop, but they feel funny enough right now that I will be paying attention to them more for a while.  Seems to be a slight twisting motion when peddling but maybe I didn't notice that movement before since I wasn't clipped on.  I suppose your foot moves a lot more than you realize.  Soon we'll see what it does to my riding cadence/speed.  
 
Thanks to all those that helped out with this endeavour.