How do you change the turn increment and the start and finish years for a mod? I know Ive seen it in scenarios but Id like it just for a mod not a scenario.

CIV4GameSpeedInfo.xml (assets/xml/gameinfo .... search for the game speed you want to alter) and GlobalDefines.xml (assets/xml .... search for START_YEAR).

There are tutorials for setting up your mod folder (you only need copies of the files you want to change) and specifically for XML editing (very easy, all text). Check stickies on the main forum and some of the threads on the Tutorials sub-forum (http://forums.civfanatics.com/forumdisplay.php?f=177)