That totally makes sense @bulldogLowell. Good point. 
Thanks again for the input @racemaniac! I was actually doing some research on just that last night--trying to wrap my head around states and figure out how to work w/ those instead of the way I have it currently set up. Your explanation helps clarify a few things. Hopefully I'll have this squared away soon and can share my code in this thread for anyone else that might encounter a similar situation. XD