RP takes alot of getting used to: you have to think "what should my character do" as opposed to "what should I do"... I'm a bit of a tradewhore myself so I'm easing into it by running a Freelance Trader across Sirius poking my nose into things, before I actually start a Character with a fixed Faction.
But there's still RP with other Players (which is the point): various Navies get ticked off when you run their blockades; you might want to browse the Forums to get an idea of where other Factions (both existing and made up) are coming from... and if you use Tradelanes alot you *will* get Pirated alot though of course under level 40 everybody will leave you alone while you get on your feet. Expect not only to have to play a Character in a big play, but have others explain themselves to you also. I get thanked for bringing food to Crete (and a bit criticized for exporting the Alien Artifacts) and I'm currently setting up negotiations with a Pirate faction to bring Tourists in:)
From what I hear alot of people run their Traders as Zoners as secondary characters just to fund their other accounts, but I like Trading for its own sake as it sounds like you do.
