I am using some diodes for the first time in a wiring project.
What would a measure of continuity look like? In the “no flow direction” I get a .5 ohm and in the “flow direction” I get over 1. Is this normal? These are 1N4001 diodes.
I expected a zero in the no flow and the normal 1 in the flow. However as I said, this is the first time.

diodes have a breakdown voltage. at this level you will get some flow of current back through the diode. It also depends on if you have a zener or avalanche diode. study the data sheet. should help you.

Not sure how you are measuring continuity. The simple way is to set the multimeter to voltage, hook the black electrode to ground, one end of the diode to +12V, and the red electrode to the other end of the diode. If the banded end of the diode is on the +12V side, the multimeter won't read any voltage. If the banded end is on the red electrode side, the multimeter will read +12V (minus a bit of voltage drop over the diode, maybe 0.5V or so).
Here's a datasheet for the 1N400x series:
http://www.fairchildsemi.com/ds/1N/1N4001.pdf

I was just using an ohm meter to measure resistance. The reason I asked was because of a recent problem I had during an install of a remote starter where I had troubles. The trouble stemmed from some of the wires i made with spade connectors (crimps). Took me 3 hours to find the problem. I decided that in the future i would check all my wires before installing. So i guess the best way to check diodes is to hook them to a circuit for testing.?

You can't measure diodes with a digital ohmeter. You can check them with a plain old analog multimeter which will have enough current output to turn the diode on in its forward direction so if it's good you will see a low reading one way and infinite or near-infinite the other.
Most digital multimeters do have a diode check mode which will show the voltage drop across the diode. In the forward direction you should see around .5-.7 V or so, and reverse should be much higher.
When checking with a meter also be sure not to touch the leads of the component being tested, or the meter leads, with your fingers as this will affect the readings.

OK thanks everyone. I do have both a digital and analog meter.I will check my setup tomorrow.