I thought I heard somewhere that current FFXIV characters would be transfering over to A Realm Reborn when its released.  I haven't been able to find any more information on that though since looking for it again.  Is is true they plan on keeping previous characters levels/gear/etc. or is there going to be a wipe and people will just be keeping their character names and such?

Characters will carry over, though you'll have a one-time chance to give your character a makeover. Importing old characters is actually part of the beta-testing roadmap.

While you can certainly import an old character, I'd highly recommend starting a new job at the onset of the game so you can experience the new content put in at all levels (ie. get the quests done and learn a job from the ground up using the new battle mechanics.).