very new to text adventures and i am at a point where i need to make a table which contains a light source visible in a dark room. i have tried using various commands such as make object visible, display object link, and others of the sort. is it possible to make an object 'visible' in a dark room? should i make the table also a light source as well in order to get to the original light source?

my intention is that the user must input "find table" and a script follows saying they walk around for a bit and find a table. (table being a link with its verb list displayed once clicked on)

You need to set it as a weak light source. Have a look at this tutorial:
https://github.com/ThePix/quest/wiki/Handling-Light-and-Dark

wow thank you so much!! i will definitely try this out.