The best time to dig tulips is when leaves start turning yellow. At this time bulbs have fresh skin which will create solid protective shell when it dries out. If you wait until leaves are dry, the bulb's skin will be dry and easily falls off, leaving bulbs less protected from infections.
You can plant them right away, but usually they are planted in the beginning of October.
Protect from squirrels while soil is loose!

how would one store them after digging up until you had a place to plant (which may be a year yet) or would i be best transplanting into a square of dirt at the end of a row of trees on the land where we plan to build now, allow them to bloom in spring and move them again the following fall??

PS cool storage.. i have no cellar or cold room

I plant tulips in the fall. In the spring, I lift the tulips about a week after the bloom is finished. I sprinkle some dirt into the bottom of a large pot, and carefully lift the tulip (with dirt and stems still attached) to the pot. I cram as much as I can into the pot, water once, and then let them dry out in the cool screened in porch.

Once they are lifted, I plant my dahlias ( which I have already started in pots in early April.

Once a frost has occurred, and knocked out the dahlias, I lift them, and plant the tulips.

Interesting cycle that works, but necessary as my space is limited, and I want COLOUR.

You can dig tulips inow too. Dig them up and plant them in a pot and keep it outside. When the leaves turn brown pull them off and store in a cool dry dark place, A fruit cellar is ideal but a dry basement or garage will work. In the fall upend the pot, pick out the bulbs and plant them.