i got the driver today but on the schematic(sort of..all hand drawn) it says to connect the ld anode and cathod but it says the cathode output and ground are common..does that mean i just connect the 2?
It means, that the input ground is the same as the output ground.
You still connect the diode on the output and the input voltage on the input terminals. But you could connect the negative input wire or the LD cathode at any other gnd connection.