Thanks for the advice folks.
I phoned QF to book it and they did all the work for me in building the connections so to speak.
Connecting at LAX should be "interesting" to say the least.
Sounds like a bit of a nightmare with the connections, I'll fumble my way through LAX and DFW no doubt with some weird sense of direction that I seem to have a nose for in these situations
The 2 hour at LAX DOES indeed worry me as it's short...VERY short. I had some dim idea I would have to re-check bags. I assume I would turn up at the AA desks with my QF itinerary and passport... as I say I have NO experience of connections before on international flights so I'm pretty much in the dark about it.