i am looking to change the readout of line weights from metric to inches in the layer manager. does anyone have any suggestions. thank you in advance.

You want to change the system variable called LWUNITS from a value of < 1 > which is the default to a value of < 0 >.  This is done at the command line of course.

[Just a comment -- given that almost all of the world uses metric units, the Topic here might more accurately be "layer manager standard/imperial".  I wish (as someone stuck with Imperial units here in the US) that the US would bite the bullet and join in -- it's easier to work with once you get used to it, and would avoid all the hassles of conversions and alternate Dimension text and so on.  It's kind of odd that "Imperial" is the term, related presumably to the British Empire, when we in the US who broke from that Empire so long ago are about the only ones using those units any more.]

If you make your new drawing based on the ACAD.DWT template (not ACADISO.DWT), it will be all imperial - not only in the Layer Manager.