Thanks for the reply, I feel like I must be missing something obvious. Here's a step by step of what I'm doing, hopefully someone will see a misstep in my actions:
In ArcCatalog:
Create new File GeoDatabase and name. Open properties and enter the domain field. Enter "Species List" as Domain Name and under Domain Properties:
Field: Text
Domain Type: Coded Values
Split policy: Duplicate
Merge policy: Default
Then I enter a series of Codes and associated Descriptions. (Ii, iname; Kk, kname; mm, mname)
Apply.
Then I create a Feature Class with a name and alias, select "Point Features" and choose the Coord system and click Next until I get to the Field Name and Data Type table. There, I associate the feature class to the domain as described above and select Finish.
Now, I drop my feature class into ArcMap and open the attribute table in editor mode, but none of my coded domains show up. What am I missing?