***wipes sweaty brow and heaves a sigh of relief**

ok, so about 14 hours later i finally figured out the problem. if you have any familiarity with php, you’ll probably empathize with me: it came down to forgetting one extra “equal” sign. for want of an equal sign did my kingdom almost fall!!!
so yeah, we’re back up, the store works and if you’re smart you’ll check out the 11998844 track jackets and zip-ups before i even get a chance to make an official post about them later this afternoon….
there is a gawd and s/he is indeed merciful! praise allah jeebus. talk to you soon.