ElvisGump, please use CODE tags for code or output. See my signature.
As an exercise, go back and edit post #14.

Your sources are a mess, even for Ubuntu.
I count at least 4 different releases:
focal, groovy, zesty, trusty... that can't be right. And well explains the problems you're having.
I think a re-install is in order, given your level of expertise.

And in the future, use LTS only.

Dunno what PPAs or REPOS are, guessing repositories on the latter.

All I ever did was follow the upgrade directions and let the updater do its thing or did the apt upgrade code in Terminal. Why there's still references to older versions in there is Ubuntu's thing. I was just a bystander.

This gets WEIRD :I typed this a few hours ago and fell asleep watching tv on the couch:

It's probably all moot at this point. I had rescued some files off the main drive, but not all. An update for Ubuntu Base and Chrome came up so hoping it might fix stuff that's broken I let them install and restarted and now all I get is a purple screen and nothing else. A few shutdowns and reboots brings up nothing but a purple screen and a cursor that comes and goes. I figure everything is truly hosed now.

I could only dig up an old 7.10 disk that won't boot. A random old Spinright disk tells me the hardware is fine, but nothing else. Where my 14.04 disk is is a ponder. Office is too cluttered.

Gonna break into the piggy bank and try to find some funds for a whole new machine at BestBuy or Wallymart tomorrow. I really can't afford it, but hey, maybe a miracle will happen!

I think this laptop goes back to 2013 or 14 so it's time I treat myself.

Thanks for all the help. I wish I understood more of it.

Okay so after that, watched a movie, fell asleep woke up on the couch and decided to go actually get in the bed. I hadn't shut down the laptop which then displayed a screen I'd never seen before which looked sort of like the SAD MAC crash thing from System 7. Fatal error, blah, blah, EXIT.

I was surprised to see even this sign of life. I hit Enter to Exit. And the screen goes blank, then the startup screen with login is there. I enter my password. The desktop pops up. Skeptical I do the one thing that hasn't worked, launched Chrome. Pops up like days of old or a week ago. I click system monitor, CPUs barely ticking over. Launch a bunch of stuff, play about and now everything is like the last week never, ever happened.

Again, do I have gremlins?

How do I do the undo of what's wrong with my PPA or REPOs or whatever that code from the list thingy I'm told is messed up? Can I reinstall the 20.04 without having to copy everything off so I can go back to LTS release?

Or should I leave well enough alone?

I'm so confused. I feel like my system is POSSESSED.
Is there an EXORCISM app for that?

Did you read the link I gave you in post #15? As that explains what PPA's are, in any case, they are essentially "third party software repositories". The acronym "repo" is just short for the word "repository".

You can either comment out all the lines that have "ppa" in them, or just remove them altogether. You can always reinstall, but it depends on whether or not you have a separate "home" partition as to whether you can reinstall without having to copy your personal documents, files, etc off beforehand. You should make a habit of backing up anything that's important to you regardless.

Given your confusion, here's what I'd suggest you do: backup everything that is important to you (ie. your personal documents, images, videos, etc) to external media (like a USB flash drive for example), then format your Ubuntu partitions (to do a clean install), then reinstall Ubuntu. But remember to not go crazy adding software repositories next time, to avoid ending up in the same mess you're currently in.

I missed the PPA/Repo link in message 15 because my eyes glazed over and the condescension really isn't helpful.

After reading that link how to "comment out" repositories still doesn't make sense to me. As to adding repositories, I think I had added a bunch of them years ago under 14.04 and nothing bad happened so I assumed that I was okay.

I'd honestly like to find the time to uninstall all the useless stuff like games and utilities I don't think I'd ever use, but as my spirit animal Adam Savage said the other day "I am an impatient monkey wearing shoes." I am just busy you know making stuff in GIMP or INKSPACE to keep the lights on. I had to fire up the nearly 20 year old G3 in the back to use Photoshop 4 or whatever it is to get some work finished so I claim distraction.

I'm sorry I'm so dim, but the condensation doesn't actually help me. I see that I can go to another board and probably skip the abuse for being too dumb for your time.

Sorry I annoyed you.

While I'm sorry you feel that way; nobody as far as I can see is calling you "dim" or "dumb", and I'll speak for myself in saying; I strongly disagree that I was being "condescending" in any way, certainly not intentionally if nothing else.

I provided you with the link in post #15 in the hope that it would not only help you understand your problem, but to also give you some background about what software repositories and package managers are and do. You admitted that you had "missed it", fair enough, can happen to the best of us (and does). But that's no reason to get defensive and accuse people of doing something they haven't done in the first place.

You didn't "annoy" me in the first place.

Again, and FWIW, I'd suggest you take this as a learning experience about the pitfalls of adding too many extra software repo's and then backup anything that's important to you, then do a full reinstall of Ubuntu. And once again, be far more careful next time. I'd also suggest you read the link I gave to you earlier on, as well as read up about package managers and software repositories in general.

Best of luck whatever you decide.

ElsvisGump, sorry you should feel this way. But you have to understand that ultimately it's up to you to get to grips with your system, not us.