All I am getting is a zero. It could very well be that I just am not
following very well, however.

Here is an example from my sheet:

items from 'd'

Oct-05
Oct-05
Oct-05
Nov-05
Jan-06

their corresponding values from 'e'

$35
$10
$10
$3
$7

In this example, Oct-05 total = $55, Nov-05 = $3, and Jan-06 = $7

I think you have what I am saying (but am including the example just
incase) but I may not be following what you are saying. When I copy /
paste the equation you gave above, I only got a '0'. Is there something
that I should be changing in the equation (other than ranges as I don't
need 1000 cells worth) that I may have missed?

Thanks so very much and I am very sorry to trouble you with such a
novice issue.