Great explanation, Colophon! I’m going to send it off to my mother the teacher so she can steal it.
Thank you to everyone who responded. I can usually get along just fine with my commas and periods. I may end up with far too many or not enough but most people let that slide. I hate using any more advanced punctuation, but need it in so much of what I have to say to customers. Believe it or not, it’s so much easier to answer many questions with those kind of blended sentences. I have bookmarked this thread so I can refer to it when (that’s not an “if” by the by – I know my limitations) I forget the rules.