how to fix uneven numbering spacing in a word document

Stefan's recommendations should work fine.

macropod is right, though, about style use.

If you want more, see Automatic Numbering in Word - my 5-page pdf.

It includes links, screenshots, and videos.

Follow Stefan's advice. If you have to make changes to the list numbering, be sure you select just the first entry in your list.

Note: If you go to YouTube, you will find a number of videos on list numbering and using styles.

Click the very first paragraph number. Does that select all the other numbers, indicating that they are all part of the same list?

To adjust the settings for numbering, you can right-click and choose Adjust List Indents, which will display the Adjust List Indents dialog box, if this is a single-level list.

Often, it will be more efficient to click Home tab > Paragraph group > Multilevel List > Define New Multilevel List so that you get access to all the settings (numbering and indentation) for your list.

P.S. Long-term, the best way to set up numbered lists is by using styles. You may manage without styles in a short, uncomplex document. You definitely won't in a long, complex document, though.

All you need to do to fix that is to make sure all the paragraphs have the same formatting. If you're using Styles correctly, that's a trivial undertaking; otherwise, you could select the whole range, then use the paragraph formatting tools to apply whatever indents, tabs, etc. you want.

All you need to do to fix that is to make sure all the paragraphs have the same formatting. < how do i do this?

If you're using Styles correctly, that's a trivial undertaking; otherwise, you could select the whole range, then use the paragraph formatting tools to apply whatever indents, tabs, etc. you want. ????

see above