Bobby,
I will be there for the weekend. Deep Ellum is in a rough part of town, so don't go alone. I'd also recommend the West End area, which is about 1 mile from the hotel. It has some good bars as well.
Also, check out dart.org for more details on mass transit in Dallas. I've found that's a really easy way to go. Although if you are out late at night, the buses shut down by 11 or midnight.
Check out this map for a better idea of how it works:
http://www.dart.org/maps/downtowndallasmap.htm