Installing LL to external drive

[rokytnji]

Am i bitting off too much for my ability here?

IMO. Yep. Because of this.

like what's 'Gparted', how do i look at it running, what's grub & mdr etc.

It is not rocket science. But does take some searching, personal effort,  and internal deduction on your part.  There is a manual built in your menu. Youtube is chock full of tutorials < hint: gparted > .  So is the internet.  Link
https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1195275

Sorry my answer will be short. But I am a busy busy Linux-Lite user with a lot of irons in the fire. The install is handled like a normal install. You just point it to the proper target and run with it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glFCEauwGgw

But. To each their own different drummer. I'd use the external drive for storage. But this is your show. You can roll how you want. Good luck.