Ken,
1. Strictly speaking, in film terms a macro lens is: A lens capable of giving a 1:1 or greater magnification ratio of subject to image on the film. How this definition translates to digital sensor image size I'm not sure, I'd imagine it to be the same. The term is more generally used to describe any close focusing lens.
2. Magnification ratios, see point 1, it's a measure of how big the actual subject is vs. how big the image on the film/sensor.
3. Macro lenses can be used for "normal" photography.
I'm not sure exactly what you're after when you say "Can anybody suggest a suitable lens" as a lot depends on the subject matter you're taking but I've seen some great results from the Tamron 90mm DI Macro.
Regards,
Duncan.
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