[ChipFish]

Quite honestly, I read your post, and would put money down that you will be a much better player as time goes on.
You appear to be doing all the right things in my opinion.
Using PTracker to improve yourself is a big thing that many don't do.
Talking amongst your friends is a Great thing that again many people don't do, aside from bad beat stories.

I'd say you are on the right track with where you are going for sure.

Here's my opinion on your questions:

playing at levels on cash tables what roll should I be looking at,
There is no right answer.
It's whatever makes you comfortable.
Some go by the 20-25 Buyin rule, others go with less others go with more.

What would you say is the min hands required to get a true impression of how a player usually plays
Around 50-100 in a current session will give you more than enough to have a general idea of how a player plays. (you should be able to figure out how a player plays (lag Tag passive etc) after 15-20 hands tops you should be able to figure this out once you get the hang of it.

After a few hundred hands on a player you should have a pretty good idea of how they play the majority of the time.


Would you consider moving up levels based on the cash you are winning,,the hours/hands you play at a level
I would move you based on cash I am winning I suppose....
If I played say xx,xxx number of hands, I wouldn't move up until I a) had my alotted number of buy-ins for that level, b) was satisfied with my play, c)was not on a losing streak, d)and was comfortable with the next levels $ amounts.

Does running pokertracker on yourself scare you?
No.
Sometimes it surprises me, sometimes it confirms what I was thinking, sometimes it helps me learn something new, sometimes it doesn't do anything for me.

Hope this helps.