so I tried starting her for a while, no go. Realized that i had forgotten to turn the tank petcock to on. Put the frame petcock on prime, let the battery recoup, then....nothing. She'll crank for a while until the battery decides it doesnt want to try anymore. Any advise? did I hook up fuel lines correctly?

Could be a lot of things. If you are sure the tank and fuel chicken are ON:

Kink in fuel line to fuel chicken or carb.
Vacuum leaks cause bike to not work as it should. Check all vacuum
Working on bike carbs has caused a wiring connection to get loose

That's all I got. Drove 6 hours to Chicago with a 3 year old who drove me nuts. I'm spent.

Haha, I appreciate the input.