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Hi Chris, I use the Sky Commander on two different alt/az mounts and had similar confusion to you when I first got it. The problem turned out to be incorrect setting of the encoder sense.
To check the altitude/dec encoder: after alignment point the telescope horizontal and due south, then slowly move straight up through 10 or 20 degrees. The numbers should increase - if they don't you need to change the encoder sense as per the manual. Note that once you pass the south celestial pole (-90 degrees) the numbers will start to decrease again.
To check the RA encoder: after alignment point the scope horizontal and due south. Slowly move the scope towards the east. The numbers should decrease - if they don't you need to change the encoder sense as per the manual. Note that the numbers will increase if the scope is pointed above the south celestial pole, moving from west to east.
I hope that helps. This is all assuming the Sky Comm has been set up according to the manual. Unless you want to find planets the alignment procedure only requires you to point at two alignment stars - no date or time needs to be entered and the scope doesn't need to be pointing anywhere particular prior to alignment.
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