Well, I'm no expert, let me offer some thoughts that may or may not be helpful:
Very good, and insightful. Let's see if I can add a little from the woman's perspective.
-Women appreciate honesty especially in romance, this means "us" men have to put our hearts out there..that is how it is.
HONEST women appreciate honesty, in everything. There are many different shades of integrity among women, just as there is among men. The most important person to be totally honest with is yourself first, and then measure that against what you see in the woman. If you let your hormones do the evaluation, you will probably not see the important clues. This is why it is so important to get to know another person socially and casually long before you begin to explore any kind of intimate relationship. Once the hormones kick in, sober judgment pretty much flies out the window. (And this is just as true for women as for men, of course.)
-Women are as nervous as "we" are when first meeting someone. Take a women on a dinner date and she may not eat anything as she may not want to appear to be unattractive...see that nervous thing
People are insecure in a new relationship because they don't know what to expect and they don't know what is expected of them. That's where the honesty above comes in. If you are clear about what you expect from another person (as far as integrity), and explore carefully what the other person expects of a relationship, you will overcome a great portion of the "first date" jitters. Just be honest, and don't try to "impress" anyone. If you/they see what they like, you/they will stay. If you/they don't... you/they will walk.
-Women appreciate manners in a man, do not care what the media says, women really like this in a man..just don't go overboard
Sincere consideration and gentle behavior is always appropriate. Phony "manners," or macho posturing will never win friends among women. And don't get sucked into the convoluted - you can't win no matter what you do - lib/feminazi crap. If a woman gives you conflicting signals on basic courtesy moves, I'd advise you to run and not look back.
Honest women appreciate and are attracted to honest men. Everyone else is on their own and God help them.

-Women appreciate a man with his own life, meaning making her the focus of your life "can" become tiresome
Depends on the woman, of course. Some would dearly love to have you as an abject slave to carry out her every whim. Question is, do you want to be a lap dog? Every man and woman needs to be secure in their own life and work to form a healthy relationship to another person. The "focus" will change during that relationship, from the total involvement during courtship and the honeymoon period, to the relative detachment of maturity and into old age. One of the major causes for divorce, aside from lack of honesty about things from the start, is the mistaken idea that the honeymoon feelings and drives should last a lifetime. They don't and can't, because they would eventually burn a hole right through your brain.

-Women appreciate a well dressed/groomed man..not a suit per se, how about a shower and clean clothes?
I can't tell you enough how important this is - and should be a very vital first clue when meeting new people. Your first gut impression is going to be VERY accurate, usually, though you need to leave wiggle room if you meet under certain conditions. But if you show up for a first date with dirt under your fingernails, or with a lingering BO of booze... you are not going to impress a good, honest woman no matter how hard you try otherwise.
-Women appreciate a man who can cook and take the burden off of her..besides a romantic dinner at your place saves some $$$$
A good woman appreciates a man who fully engages in LIFE, who is willing to participate in all kinds of things with her as an equal partner. A man who can cook has a tremendous gift to offer, of course, but the guy who can't boil water can be present and at least attempt to learn. A man who would be willing and able to do some of the cooking would be a real prize, but the same can be said for almost anything else in life. The woman who is willing and able to help with the yard, learn how the car actually works, help at the reloading bench, ride the motorcycle with her man... you get the picture - also has a marvelous gift to give. The most important thing we share with any other human being is our self, or presence, our time. No relationship can endure without that.
-Women are conversation junkies, seriously, women will literally talk for hours, "our" job is to listen, be interesting, think she talks 60% of the time, "we" talk 30% of the time, 10% is left for awkward silences... 
Not a bad summary, though there are differences between women. Women do express themselves more in words and feelings than do men, most of the time. That's just how we are built. Many have unrealistic expectations that men will both be able and want to engage in the same level of communication. In my experience, this becomes more of a problem in cases where both people are NOT truly engaged in the process of life, as described above. Then the words and feelings are pretty much all she has to work with. Not good. If you are drowning in words and feelings from her, try engaging her - including her - in the rest of your life. If she has no interest in that; if life is ALL about her, her feelings, what she wants, and her opinion on everything, you can pretty well conclude that this is not a woman you are going to have a good, long term relationship with in any case. Run, do not walk for the nearest exit.
-Be straight up, but do not be a tool...this is known as tact yes the dress may look bad on her but all she really cares up in terms of "our" opinion is if the tag is sticking out of the back.
Serious minefield here. The old, "does this dress make me look fat..." I'm sorry, buddy, but this is exactly the same question as, "have you stopped beating your wife." Any woman who pulls this shit has serious problems, actually. Trust me, she's not concerned with the tag if she's pulling this... she's setting up a trap to punish you. Many women do this crap because it is how they were raised, and I suppose some don't truly understand how evil it is... but that is their problem. It is aggression, emotional abuse, and plain evil.
This is why it is so important to start from a position of honesty and openness. If you establish mutual expectations early, you should not be blindsided by some crap like this. If it shows up later... take the nearest exit because you will know that this person has no integrity. Any kind of manipulative and punishing behavior is a good sign that this lady does not belong in your life.
Honest compliments on dress and so forth are always appropriate, but if your partner's happiness rests in your approval or if she uses it as a lever to hurt you... you simply cannot win.
Good luck!