What are the best export settings for standard definition footage when using FCP 7 to youtube? If you can add any more information on why thatd be cool too. Just trying to learn as much as possible.

If you have FCP 7 you also have Compressor, there are several presets in there for both Youtube and Vimeo that have been tested by Apple to give the best quality. Find 1 minute of footage representative of stuff you want to upload to YT and do some tests to find the Compressor preset that suits you and your footage. Both YT and Vimeo have Help pages with recommended settings, Vimeo has program specific instructions for FCP, FCE etc - try those as well.