i changed my console font to a larger one of my choice and used setfont={font choice}. stayed until i rebooted and then had to change the font again. also i am trying to change the root profile. will the setfont= not work for the root profile, just the non-root user?
thank you

I think distribution here would be helpful for people to know so they can advise more clearly. And also whether or not this is a command line only situation versus with a desktop environment.

Your profile says Slackware. If so, then this discussion could move there, where the members will likely be able to help you best. Please advise though.

For my thinking:
Desktop: You can save the command prompt attributes as part of a menu and settings.
Command line: I'm not sure "profile" versus the startup script for the shell. This is where distro dependence may matter, or at least information about which shell you are using.

/etc/rc.d/rc.font
Put your setfont in there.

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i will try that, and also start posting my questions in the slackware forum sorry and thank you.

well...that did not work. modify the file save/reboot and while loading somewhere near when the network programs are loaded the screen blacks out and then returns with a number 6 font of some type. i can see the cursor moving but can barely read the characters. login and then have to source /etc/rc.d/rc.font, then the font is what i need.
but thank you just the same.

Given that setfont (or rather, unicode_start) in rc.font works for me today just as well as it did previous 12 years, it is obviously either you or your graphics driver doing something wrong. Its working on second attempt (after login) additionally complicates things - it means the setfont's arguments are not totally wrong.
Did you try using the setconsolefont command as root? Choose say "sun12x22.psfu.gz" as easily discernible, and see what happens then (only backup your rc.font first as this command will rewrite it). If after reboot the font gets set as it should, then the error was in your rc.font somehow; if a too-small (default 8x8?) font appears again, then it is graphics driver. (However I do not see how just being logged in could have helped anything in that latter case.)