I did use that post to originally set up the config file.
I finally got the mysql phpadmin to work by going to :
http://localhost/xampp/
Then clicked the Security Tab
Clicked:
http://localhost/security/xamppsecurity.php
Changed my password to the exact same thing it was.
And I could now log in to phpadmin. But still at a loss on getting mysql to be recognized when I start the server.