(Off topic) I HATE the prep part of painting. I think that there is a real market for a service where a person or persons could wash walls for people who hate doing it. (back on topic)

Good hell, my friend, that sounds frustrating. Especially since you are midwinter and therefore cannot open all the damn windows to let the fumes out. I wish you luck.

wow you guys, i feel like such an amateur! lol! all this awesome advice! :-)

i think, like reid (?) said, it was drying too fast, and i was not using enough paint cause i was running out and trying to make it go a little longer...this backfired and i actually had to get more paint to do over!
so after it dried, i gave it a 3rd coat and it looks spotless...the trick is to press with equal pressure, use one of those self filling rollers (with paint it in) and let it dry...it will look very sreaky as it dries..but when fully dried it looks uniform. i've read this somwhere online...also a tip, do not go over spots unless you wanna redo the whole wall...hold off even if you feel very tempted - chances are it will dry well...and it did.

i was painting with flat (on flat)...as i hear this is the hardest to paint - now i know why! eggshell or satin next time for sure!

thanks again for the tips everyone! back to the fumes..................