That's pretty interesting... I am in the army, and this guy I work with can play rhythm like no other, such as Zeppelin's 'Gallow's Pole' and 'Friends' but he cant play lead at all. Me, on the other hand, I wish I could play chords and rhythm, but all I know how to do is shred like a madman and play powerchords... I guess it's just a matter of what we've invested in. I would suggest that if you are starting lead, begin with the minor pentatonic scales- they are fixed across the fretboard regardless of starting note. As soon as you learn them hands down, you will be soloing awesome- after that, learn the blues scales, which smply incorporates a few different notes, but the pattern is relatively similar. Let us know how it goes...