Originally Posted by Eastbay1K

pretend I'm an idiot

Originally Posted by guv1976

From T7, follow signs to ground transportation and AirTrain.

Originally Posted by guv1976

You don't pay anything upon boarding at the airport; you pay only when passing through the faregates at one of the two AirTrain terminals, Jamaica or Howard Beach. You will board a Jamaica-bound AirTrain at T7, not a "Howard Beach" or "All Terminals" AirTrain. (In this context, "All Terminals" refers to all airport terminals; that route does not go to either of the AirTrain terminals.)

Originally Posted by guv1976

Upon arrival at Jamaica, you will walk to the faregates, and will find MetroCard vending machines where you can top up your existing MetroCard to reach the $7.75 in value that is charged to pass through the faregates. Before you do so, you may also be able to purchase your Long Island Rail Road ticket from one of the other vending machines near the faregates; if not, you will find LIRR ticket machines once you walk out of the AirTrain terminal onto the LIRR mezzanine overlooking the tracks.

Originally Posted by guv1976

If you sit near the back of a Manhattan-bound LIRR train, you will find yourself close to the staircases/escalators that bring you up to the 7th Avenue side of Penn (Moynihan) Station. And when coming from the Jamaica AirTrain Terminal, a traveler will coincidentally find himself near the rear of Manhattan-bound LIRR trains.