@mh alright, got an update. VM installed win10 no problem. tried mucking around the video settings and zero luck. one setting actually allowed me to see the VM but was slow af. other settings leave a black screen.
i think i can still work with my USB bootable win10 but gotta look into ensuring secure boot and seeing how to encrypt partitions/drives after they are set up. otherwise i'll need to wipe Mint and encrypt with a fresh install. win10 on this puppy may need to be sacrificed