OK Parenting the cloth to the figure is good because once the clothfying bit is all done you may want to move him to another part of the scene. By parenting, the cloth will follow him and not get left behind. Parenting/Not parenting makes no difference to the cloth calculation.

In the cloth room what are you selecting the cloth to collide against? Are you just selecting a few body parts? If so I found it best to select the whole figure then click the option boxes to discount the head, feet or hands.

Can you give a screen shot of the scene before going into the cloth room. Is the cloth hovering above the figure? Is it touching any part of it?

How many frames are you using? (I suggest use 30). Are you using any drape frames?(I'd probable not use any in this example). Are you selecting the "Drape from zero" option? (Probably best not but will depend on what you show me as your starting point)

Back-at-ya :)