identifying my math weakness

Enginpasa1, I would suggest you go to a bookstore and get a study book on word problems. There are a few out there (non-GMAT related) that will show you how to read a problem and translate that into an equation. They'll actually completely break down each question to show you how to solve it. They're books more at the high school (or lower) level, but they'll get the job done for you. I bought one just as a quick refresher and it worked. (Note: Those study books won't have problems as difficult as the GMAT, but they'll teach you the basics and help you understand what the questions are asking.)

Hey, check this page out: https://www.purplemath.com/modules/translat.htm

It gives you some hints on how to translate the words into equations. At the end, there are some examples and different types of word problems. Good luck!

went back to basics and learned a few elementary rules for word problems and basic accompanying math skills. Happy to say that I just did EVERY math word problem in the kaplan math workbook. I scored 91 out of 102 correct. MY timing was fair and overall missed 10 points from getting sloppy in the math and not answering in a logical matter. all in all a 91 out of 102 is good but need to replicate this on exam day.

p.s. sounds funny but reading the question asked twice and thinking about it for 1-2 seconds works wonders.