looking to merge this into one face have tried a few different things but can not get to do it properlly.
Welcome to BA 
You can press M to merge selected geometry. Press F3 and type “clean up” to get Merge by Distance, which works on all geometry. You can also find “delete loose” with that search, which will get rid of anything not connected to other geometry. That last option may be your best bet, although it’s hard to say without seeing a screenshot