Quiediamatt wrote:How do I make my very own map making use of gps coordinates with acurate measurements in between points I've previously collected
You could produce a local grid with your gps coordinates, but why not simply add your gps coordinates to an existing map such as USGS topographical map? It would be much easier and will tie into existing topographical features such as roads. You can download USGS topo maps at
http://www.usgs.gov/.
Either way, if you're using latitude/longitude, for ease of use I would convert to another coordinate system such as UTM (Universal Mercator Projection). Many GPS units can be set to read other coordinate systems (which will convert all points from the original system to the new system entered).
More information is needed before we can be of more help.