No hard feelings here John, but if this was what you originally bought the Zip drive for .. well.
I personally never found a way to read zip disks that were formatted on PC on the Falcon ... maybe someone else can help you there.
I regularly transfer files from my pc to my falcon, simply by using a null-modem cable (you can get these from Maplin or any good independent computer store). Using Hyperterminal on the pc and Connect on the Falcon I was able to achieve what I wanted to do.
The advice above applies if you are using Windows 98, if you are using Linux then any good comms program will do for connection on the pc end.