Jerry,
As for the progress messages, which is the percentage you hear, you can go to
user options, Settings, and turn the progress message announcement off if you
prefer.
As for the spacebar as push-to-talk, I think you need to go to Echolink
preferences. I have an older version of Echolink, so I'm not sure if it is
located in the same spot.
Don't worry about what people think; they don't do it very often.
Steve, K8SP