how do i get a count of the number of rows in a query?

Click the totals icon (E type shape) or go to View and choose totals. A new row will appear in the query grid called totals and Group By will appear in each field.

Add the field you want to count again to the query grid, click the drop down box where it says Group By and choose Count. Same procedure for sum and other totaling calculations.

The Group By groups all fields that are the same together, but you do need to make sure that any fields that would cause your data to split, eg: a date field that would then break it down further. I will e-mail you some query results to explain this in more detail.

HTH