Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to answer. I really appreciate it. Yes, I have been playing these types of games for years. I remember loving the very first command and conquer.... 1st Warcraft, age of empires etc etc... right through the next versions.... (Still play my old version of C&C Generals lol) I have never had any problem playing any of them. I just couldn't believe the summary at the end how much more resources the enemy had collected than me, yet all I had done was gather resources and build new people to gather more resources.... These are two awesome answers that I can look into. Cheers. Thanks again!
(Just read the guide. Very close to what I was doing, but I just think more food and wood gathering needed. I was also building walls and towers straight after upgrading to level 2. Didn't know how to send archers into them. So I think I wasted a lot of time building def and barracks early.)