in case this helps anyone else in the future- yes that worked to connect the two that were previoisly coupled to the black. we did find out that the two black that are pigtailed in the box control other fixtures in the kitchen. They came loose which caused the microwave to not work - tightened those and it came back on.

I don’t want to sound like the kind who constantly chimes in with unsolicited advice, but that is a fire hazard. And I don’t mean the theoretical kind. This is a WHEN, not IF. Hubs was a firefighter for 25 years and the preventable fires are always the most frustrating, especially if they caused loss of life for humans or pets. Please remedy the hazards before hanging the light. You may qualify for grants or some other financial assistance if the whole house needs updating, so don’t dismiss it if that is keeping you from tackling it. Start by speaking with your utility company. Please.

What exacty are you suggesting is a fire hazard? Also, kind of odd to go as far as bringing up financial assistance, no idea where that came from.

im open to advice here but you offered nothing helpful in that comment.

I didn’t mean anything by it except if I were in a situation where a house might need rewiring, that would be a large bill! Not every can afford it out of pocket, so I didn’t want to imply that I would suggest doing that as if were no big deal. It would be for most of us! Anyway, I see degraded insulation and taped splices. There should be wire nuts and not tape, and the cracks and degraded insulation create pathways for electrical arcs that can create fires. I would be glad to be wrong. I’m simply concerned about safety. House fires are so devastating. I hope you understand. I hope you figured out which one was your hot line.

Thank you for the clarification on the hazards. I didnt recall seeing wires taped together, there was the one pig tail with the wire nut. If you are referring to that brown stuff im not really sure what it was but each wire was wrapped separately. We did wrap over the cracked insulation with electrical tape though im sure that is not the ideal fix. We are actually going to have our electrician out in the next week or two to do some other work so i will ask him to take a look at this one.

That's an overthinker....