B727-200 DRIFTS L OF DEP COURSE OUT OF RNO BECAUSE INSTS ARE SET INCORRECTLY.

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WE WERE CLRED FOR TKOF; RWY 16R AT RNO. WE HAD DISCUSSED THE DEP SID AND TRANSITIONS; ALONG WITH THE ACFT CLB PROFILE. THE SID CALLED FOR FLYNG OUTBOUND ON THE LOC BACK COURSE FOR RWY 34L; TO 13 DME; THEN TO JOIN THE HAZEN VOR (HZN) 230 DEG RADIAL FOR 13 MI; TO JOIN THE FMG VOR; 207 DEG RADIAL TO FMG; THEN ON COURSE. WE ALL AS A CREW MADE THE MISTAKE OF SETTING IN 344 DEGS ON OUR OBS ON THE HSI TO NAV OUTBOUND ON THE LOC BACK COURSE FOR RWY 34L. WE SHOULD HAVE SET IN 164 DEGS TO GIVE US PROPER SENSING; ON THE HSI. WE DEPARTED NORMALLY WITH GUSTY STRONG WINDS FROM THE W. THE HSI NEEDLE ALWAYS SHOWED FULL L DEFLECTION. WE MADE SMALL CORRECTIONS (FO WAS FLYING) TO THE L; EXPECTING THE NEEDLE TO COME ALIVE. MEANWHILE; THE WINDS WERE ALSO DRIFTING US E OF COURSE. OUR CLBOUT WAS GOOD; TERRAIN WAS NOT A FACTOR. WE COULD EVEN SEE THE TERRAIN. THE DEP CTLR ASKED IF WE WERE CORRECTING TO THE LOC BACK COURSE; WE SAID YES. EVENTUALLY; AT ABOUT 7 DME; HE HAD US TURN APPROX 30 DEGS R TO REINTERCEPT. BY THIS TIME WE WERE AT ABOUT 10000 FT MSL; AND HE GAVE US VECTORS L; TO JOIN UP ON THE REMAINDER OF THE SID. HE NOTED THAT OUR POS WAS ABOUT 1 MI E OF COURSE. WE HAD NOT REACHED 13 DME ON THE LOC. SINCE WE WERE TURNED EARLY; WE CAME UP ON THE FMG 207 DEG RADIAL QUICKER THAN WE HAD ANTICIPATED. WE FLEW THROUGH THAT AND CORRECTED BACK TO IT; ABOUT 10 MI FROM THE FMG VOR. BY THIS TIME WE WERE WITH ZOA. NO REMARKS WERE MADE. I BELIEVE THAT OUR SLOPPY NAV ON THE SID WAS DUE TO A LOT OF ATTN BEING PAID TO OUR NEW GPS NAV UNITS IN THE ACFT. WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME LOADING AND REVIEWING THE FLT PLAN INFO. WE DID REVIEW THE SID; BUT WE ALL MISSED HOW TO SET UP OUR INSTS FOR DEP. I BELIEVE THAT IT WOULD ALSO BE HELPFUL IF ON THE COMMERCIAL PLATES IT SPECIFIED THE FRONT COURSE HDG FOR THE DEP. THIS WOULD HELP WHEN REVIEWING THE PLATE PRIOR TO DEP. IT WOULD ALSO BE CONSISTENT THAT WHENEVER NAV IS TO BE USED WITH A LOC BACK COURSE; WHETHER AN APCH OR SID; THE FRONT COURSE BE NOTED AS A REMINDER ON THE PLATE. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATED THEY KNEW BETTER ABOUT HOW TO SET THE NAV INSTS FOR THE DEP. NO ONE QUESTIONED THE PROC DURING A THOROUGH BRIEFING FOR THE DEP. ALL WERE IN AGREEMENT WITH AN INCORRECT PROC. THE FLC SIMPLY FORGOT THE SENSING FEATURE OF THEIR NAV INSTS. RPTR COULD NOT OFFER A REASON WHY THEY FOLLOWED AN INCORRECT PROC.