ring game player, wants to be a better tournament player.

[Mad Genius1]

Bob, I'm somewhat in a similar position as you, since I recently started getting serious about MTTs. What helped me most IMO is the fact that I've been playing SNGs for a long time, 9-handed ones, 6-handed ones, and a lot of Headsup ones as well. All three have helped me tremendously in MTTs as you will encounter each of those situations at different phases in a MTT. I'm not as experienced as some of these guys, but the one thing that I can tell you is that no matter at what level you start, patience is key. Don't worry about your stack compared to other stacks, just play your best game and sooner or later you will have the opportunities to pick up a lot of chips.