Hi Tasha - that is exactly the way I plan my reservations. I pencil in what park(s) I'll be in on what days and then start planning my dining reservations from there. As you probably know, you can make your dining reservations 90 days from the day you check into your resort. And since you will be vacationing during free dining, I'd suggest you make your reservations as close to that 90 day mark as possible as popular restaurants/times tend to fill quickly.
As far as researching restaurants, I'd like to suggest you visit the
restaurants page on disneyworld.com. Disney has been working hard to update this page and you'll notice you'll be able to narrow down your search by using the filters on the left side of the page. For example, if you want to find all the dining locations in Magic Kingdom, click on the "Magic Kingdom Theme Park" check box and you'll see only those restaurants located in/near Magic Kingdom.
You'll also notice you can now book your reservations online as long as you are within your 90 day window. I recently used the new process and it seems fairly easy. You also still have the option to call Disney at 407-WDW-DINE to make your reservations.
I hope this helps - Happy Dining! Diane :)