There's nothing inherently wrong with long scripts. If you can describe what your code is doing I might have some suggestions for ways you can simplify and shorten them?
it's a habit i've had for about 40 years (since the days of BASIC) - writing unnecessarily long code, especially when a language is new to me. this project is particularly inefficient - i.e., multiple IF-THENs instead of loops - but it's almost done. i might ask for some tips on the next one, though. Thanks!