so id like to be able to connect the games and run them as one continuous game and im pretty sure that theres mods for that. if someone could point me to what they think is the best option for that it would be quite helpful. also looking for advice/suggestions on any other mods u guys enjoy or think are mandatory to have the best gameplay experience.

thanks in advance.

There's only one mega mod that does what you ask, and that's Baldur's Gate Trilogy (BGT).

I'm not even going to go into 'must haves' or 'mandatory' mods: there is no such thing. Every person is different, with different tastes. What I may like, you may detest. Make your own mind up.

You...have noticed the stickies at the top of this forum, I assume? They contain three different installations: one for tweaking BG1 while still running it in its own engine for a more 'vanilla' experience, one for installing tutu (which will run BG1 in a new program, using the BG2 engine) and one for BGT (baldur's gate trilogy), which runs both games in the BG2 application and makes it possible to move straight through as one continuous game. All the options allow you to import your main character from BG1 to BG2 (automatically, in the case of BGT), and BGT (and possibly the other methods, I'm not sure), in combination with a module in the Tweak Pack, will allow you to import the other characters you've had in your party so they keep the stats they have. To clarify: this will not allow you to retain your BG1 party as you go into BG2. However, many (not all) of the NPCs you can travel with in BG1 also turn up at various points in BG2, and the tweak will mean they keep the stats they managed to achieve in BG1, rather than their default starting stats in BG2.