Bob,
Dario knows a lot more than I do about burls, but as I've been cutting them up lately for a special, I'll chime in. The first thing you should know, is that wood dries 1" per year. That will take forever to dry. I cut mine up thick, in say 1" thick slabs, then let it dry out. The slabs may take a bit longer to dry, but it will reduce the checking and especially the warping. I lost some nice burl by cutting it into pen blanks right away and had to start all over.
Secondly, make sure that the burl isn't too soft. If it is, you can still get it stabilized, if it isn't too far gone. I have a maple burl that is wormy and spalted, that I am getting stabilized (the nonwormy parts).I hope this helps. When you get yours ready, let me know and maybe we can do some trading.
Seriously, you might want to send Dario an e-mail. He's the burl man, IMHO.
Semper Fidelis, from a <b>formerly</b> lean former Marine
Rob