voting conundrum

Should I register to vote in California? That way I can vote in the primaries here. Or for that matter vote in the presidential election here instead of in Texas, where I feel that my vote for anyone other than a Republican is somewhat of a waste. I have to decide soon. I've never voted in a primary before. Can one vote in a primary for a particular political party if one is registered as an independent? I'm pretty sure you don't have to be a legal resident of a state (I still have a Texas driver's license) to vote in it, you just have to live there. Or I could vote absentee in Texas. That's what I did last election. Urgh I don't know.