So I need to know if there is any way to change my damn root
password and how to get synaptic to accept them. I just turned
75 so I write a lot of stuff down so I do not forget. I would
greatly appreciate your help with this problem.
Looks like you are able to login as a non-root user but having trouble with installing packages.
Suggest you first back up your files and keep that on a separate media storage e.g. external USB drive.
This link suggests a few methods to recover the 'root' password.