InfoPath Dev

I'm looking to find a way to count entries in a rich text field and then use that total number of entries and keep a running tally if possible.

Hmmm... Do you mean count each time the field changes? So, Jane enters some text, and that gives you a count of one, then Jane goes back and enters more text and the count is two, then John enters some text and that's three and so on?

More like Jane enters a list of text, each item in that list is counted. Ex: Jane enters list of names (Bobby T, Alex H, John Y), each name is counted as an instance and THEN keep a running tally like your example.

Based on a comma delimiter? I'm not sure if that's going to be possible out of the box....Any reason to use a rich text field for this? Wouldn't it be easier to use a repeating field so that you can just count those?

Yes with the comma delimiter. I was thinking the rich text field because it would show all the names within a block. I'm new to infopath so forgive me. If you think believe a repeating field would be easier, you mind showing me how to go about that?

Are you using a list form? Or a library form? List forms don't support repeating structures in the main data source (with some minor exceptions). With a library form, you can promote the repeating field as merged when you publish, so that all the data shows in the library as well. Here's a simple sample of what I mean - save the linked file locally. Right click the saved file and select design. Then you can preview and try it.