i installed the mod into the gamedata directory, and it kind of works except that there isnt any icon to tell me if its on or on. the box is there, but there isnt any icons. any suggestions?

Usually if there is no icon, then you don't have any science containers on onboard. Science container are normally found on crewed modules, but not probes.

no icon as in, the toggle box is completely blank. i can toggle it on and off, but there is no colored image. ive installed all the files properly, i think

Hmm, that is strange. The directory should look like this.

Sorry if you've done that already, it is just that installation issues are the most common problem.