Thank you for the replies Peter.
I get the light clock/mirror issue now. The easy way for me to figure that one out, is instead of having the mirror moving relative to me and the earth, is having the mirror stationary on the Earth and me moving by it. That seemed to be an easier way to think...
It pains me to even type these out. I realize how many threads there are with very similar questions and to someone well versed in these topics, these questions probably all seem the same. But after reading what seems like all the questions, I feel I'm still confused.
1) In regards to the light...