This is what I've done...

1) FluidEffects>Create2DContainer (NOT the emitor type)
2) set scale to a 3/4 ratio since the image I will use for this is 640x480. (scaleX = 4 & scaleY = 3)
3) change resolution for fluid to 500 500
4) FluidEffects>Add/EditContents>PaintFluidsTool options box.
5) reset tool, then under AttributeMaps/Import tab imported an image of my living room. This makes the fluid look like my living room.
6) changed PaintableAttribute to color (dynamic)
7) mapped the same living room image to it through AttributeMaps/Import tab. This makes it have the same color the image has.

So, now we have a colored fluid image of my living room up and can animate it several different ways. What I can't figure out how to do is get the resolution of the living room image the fluid is creating up. I tried a 1000 1000 resolution for the fluid, but still get the same results when rendering. (and yes, I do have production quality in render globals set and all the best settings)

Any ideas?

Edit* - also, changing opacity to constant improves the color. You can change the shading resolution in the fluid attributes to 10, but it doesn't seem to help much. Just slows down your machine a little more.