This site has a ton of valuable information and has many helpful members.

The more you learn you will hopefully gain confidence with it. 

I am reading david's book at the moment to gain as much info as possible.

Then you've got to see what your'e true gain position is - The net sales price you anticipate minus the adjusted cost basis of the property. 

I just sold a rental home that I use to live on and I am going to be hit with capital gains...

The Duplex/Townhome price would more than likely be at the 300k mark or above.I have also read that the entire amount of the gains needs to be invested in to the other investment property if doing a 1031 exchange.

While looking into Cleveland I would highly recommend listening to @Michael Swan podcast and try to gain some knowledge from him.

Currently, I am more focused on gaining knowledge and experience, so I will be better prepared to dive into real estate once I graduate from my undergraduate.

I was wondering if we could technically take some of the proceeds out to have more reserves on hand and use those future losses as a way to offset the gains from keeping some of the sale proceeds.

But you will definitely gain a ton of valuable info on what active investors are looking for and whether they think you've found a deal.