Are you using a Cadkey or SignLab? Both are professional graghic programs that use the cdl file extension. Both use VECTOR graphics for design.
Or do you have a different program?
The following are typical RASTER (bitmap) image formats: JPEG, JPG, BMP, GIF, PNG, TIF, TIFF....
They are drawn with tiny dots called pixels, constrained to specific size.
Vector images like the one you need are totally different as you know. They are mathmatical formulas that create graphics. These images are scaleable (stretch/shrink) and retain content and appearance.
Typical vector formats are EPS, PDF, AI, CDR, XAR, WMF, SVG, DXF, EMF
We ALL have to do the trace/redraw technique to take a raster to vector for logos and printing issues! 
Tedious and time consuming, it is often the best option.I do not know of a program that can go directly from jpg to cdl. Can your program IMPORT other vector graphic formats (like the ones listed above)? If so, you could consider going from jpg to a different vector graphic.
Consider using an online service like h**p://vectormagic.com/home that will convert the image for you to a format that you can IMPORT to your software. Free trial, mo/online subscription, or buy full software (cheaper than AI!)
Very good conversions that I have seen.
Two other programs that I know of can trace a RASTER image and create a VECTOR graphic. One is the HUGELY expensive Adobe Illustrator cs5 (with LIVE TRACE), the other is Xara's Design Pro (XDP) with a bitmap tracer built-in (best suited to high contrast black and white images)
