ok here's what i did :-
first find lemec smash pack rom loader.
this is far better to look at and it actually works!!!!
it replaces some of the files from your original smash pack (echelon loader) and patches others.
basically it makes it non-self boot and fixes lba values.
..this means when i added my own roms that actually worked.. and first time

)
of course you have to use grom.exe to convert your *.smd files to *.bin files and make sure the region of the roms is US, otherwise they will not work.
burning should be straight forward with nero. i even used multi-session so i can add more roms at a later date.
hope this helps ya