First off - it's way to cold and icy to be out working on the boat where you are!

Yes, the thing hanging down is what the forestay SHOULD be connected to. The multiple holes, in combination with the multiple holes on the sidestay adjusters, allow you to adjust the three cables suspending your mast controling both rake (leaning forward or backward) and the rig tension. The triangular piece that you have attached the brass clip to is where the jib sail clew is pinned to after it has been fully hoisted.

The jib halyard should be a wire leader (may have been replaced with rope) that goes around a pulley at the top of the forestay. It should change over to rope at one end where it gets cleated to a v-jam cleat on the port side of the mast - there's 3:1 purchase available but I won't confuse things with that just yet. To install the jib on the boat, clip the wire end of the jib halyard to the head of the jib, engage and start the jib zipper with the forestay wire in the middle, and hoist while at the same time zipping the zipper around forestay. Once the jib is fully hoisted and zipped around the forestay, pin the clew into the triangle shapped bracket. Then tighten the jib luff by pulling down on the halyard at the mast base. Tighten the luff for upwind and loosen it for downwind.