It's unfortunate that v1.0 created kind of a catch-22 where that last puzzle was concerned. That has been improved in the v1.1 update. If you intend to start a new game, I strongly recommend that you download and install the v1.1 update. Make sure that you are ready to start over, though, before you install v1.1, because it will delete any v1.0 savegame file that it finds. You can download the new version from here: http://www.ldw.com/zips/vs1_1.zip

Each villager has an innate predisposition to one or more professions. During testing, I frequently had villagers who could not learn farming no matter how hard I stayed on them (I called them 'farming dummies')! You will find that a villager who seems resistant to one occupation will pick up another on the first try. That's just how those little people are!