cannot resize ntfs partition even after running chkdsk

Who ever told you you have to do them in any order ?

I have a dell studio xps 13 and I have to install the drivers in a specific order each time I restore if I want it to function at peak performance.

Ya but who told you that?

Dell - Windows driver install order for desktops and laptops Dell did

That is absolute rubbish , look where the have the NIC, # 4 This is the 1st and most important driver. Without it you can`t do any of the others. I have rebuilt 100s of dells.

I don't want to be stuck with generic microsoft drivers.

They are not generic, take nic cards for example, they are broadcom or intel not Dell.
If you install W7 on that pc I`d bet you a large fry your device manager would be perfect after a few Windows updates... but it is your PC.

well, one thing that I know i have to install is the synaptics touch pad driver. I can't use my laptop without that one.....otherwise its just annoying

MS spent a fortune paying all manufacturers to build drivers for Win7 so that they would be in the installer or quickly updated via Windows Update. To stick to ancient XP methods with Win7 is counterproductive.

GRUB must be deep-cleaned from the HD before you can apply the image successfully. Uses Partition Wizard bootable CD to Wipe Disk applying at least one set of zeroes - DOD standard (x3) would be better.

If you choose not to restore your 100mb SysReserved partition, then you must recover the MBR into Win7 by marking it active with PW CD, booting into Win7 DVD repair console or Repair CD, clicking through to Recov Tools list to run Startup Repair up to 3 separate times with reboots to write the MBR to Win7.

If you include the 100mb partition, make sure it remains marked active and repair the MBR if necessary using steps given above with DVD or Repair CD.