I keep hitting a snag. I dunno if it's really bad luck or what but I have an issue getting to the iron stage. Mainly with gathering dirt to get stones. Twice now I've used up all my bonemeal to get as many saplings as I could, even set up a tree farm of sorts to let them grow on their own but I just stall out. Getting past this point so I can get all the food making items that need iron is a drag. Is there any means to assist in it? I hate stalling out with nothing to do but sit and wait for trees to grow just to get one sirt that hopefully gives me four stones to get the cobble to smash and sit and conti9nue waiting until I get enough to progress.
It sounds like you're not crooking your tree leaves. using crooks to break the leaves drastically increases sapling drop rates. Your first 2 broken logs should be used to make a crafting table and crooks.
Other helpful hints:
If you're playing 'Home Sweet Home' map, there's a dirt chest under the dirt block that contains 7? more dirt.
Use your first 6 cobble to make a half-slab furnace [8 cobble half slabs in furnace shape]. Allows you to cook silk worms and fish.
Turn the next 3 cobble into stone and make a juicer to turn apples into apple juice [stretch the apple food value a little].
Turn the next 4 cobble into stone also and make the watering can. Fill the can with water [click on source block] and use the can to grow saplings. You should be able to get 13 cobble using no more than a single stack of bonemeal.
If you're lucky enough to get melon seeds, plant them right next to your tree, give them 4 dirt blocks to spawn melons with [5 block cross shape with melon seed in center], and bonemeal the seeds until fully grown [7 bonemeal used]. Now when you water the tree sapling, you'll also cause melons to grow.
After you have melons going, complete the food quest chains and use the iron reward to make cutting board [costs 1 iron] and shears. Use shears on leaves [you'll still get saplings and apples]. Use the cutting board + mixing bowl + melon slices to make fruit salad [improved food source].
If you're still having problems, or you want redstone as fast as possible, make sand and sift until you get Ancient Spores. Then sift soul sand until you get the Blood sapling. The wood from the Bloodwood tree can be used to make the Bloodwood Kama which acts like shears on leaves.