So I got to the jewelry store in Tarant but I can't get virgil to tell me what to do after that...he just tells me we need to go to the jeweler and find out more about the ring. I played this years ago and for some reason I can't remember what I need to do next. HELP PLEASE!

Pretty sure you need to harrass the guy working in the jewellers about the Schuylers - ask him twice and if you aren't persuasive enough you will have to rob (or kill) him.. HTH

Hopefully you didn't go to the magic shop or armor store thinking it's the Schuyler and Son's (the place you actually need to go). Talk to the manservant dude there until he gives you the key to the trapdoor or murder him for it.

No I went to schuyler and sons and unlocked the trap door with magic but I need to level up a couple more levels so the zombies don't kill me. But I need to kill the guy in there for sure? Or can I just go into the underground part and skip that?

Well the great thing about Arcanum is you can pretty much do whatever you want to do. You can persuade the guy to give you the key to the trapdoor, or you can kill him and take it. After you get through the zombies, you meet the schuylers and can either go along with what they say or kill them and take a quest item in their lair. You can even kill magnus if he disagrees with your decision and turns hostile.

Or you can wait until he's asleep and steal a key from him (doable even with no skill in stealing). I always use this for roleplaying reasons when I can't persuade the guy.