Due to potential slippage of the O-ring belt between motor and pulley, I've notched the pulley and installed a microswitch for cutoff...
Started the project with a stepper motor, but for design purposes it will be better us to control the pulley instead of the stepper motor.
Plus for design purposes, we are using components donated. So we are on a very strict budget.

SgtWookie... The specs for the L2722 look great and I have ordered a couple. From the .png I posted, do you think the schematic you posted will work?

 

Due to potential slippage of the O-ring belt between motor and pulley, I've notched the pulley and installed a microswitch for cutoff...

Not a bad plan. However, you might consider using a couple of optointerruptors, counting teeth on a fine-toothed thin "gear" breaking the beam on one of them so that your uC can track the progress of the motor, and the other sensing a hole a bit further in on the "gear" to determine the absolute position of the pulley. Optoelectronics have a far greater lifespan than electromechanical switches. Also, if too much time has elapsed since the last "gear tooth" has passed, you could initiate some kind of a re-try procedure in your code; reverse the motor in case some food has jammed things up, and then try running it forwards again.

Started the project with a stepper motor, but for design purposes it will be better us to control the pulley instead of the stepper motor.

Stepper motors are generally fairly low torque. Simply issuing a number of steps to a stepper motor certainly does not guarantee that it has actually rotated that number of steps. Sometimes it is easier and more practical to use a simple DC motor.

Plus for design purposes, we are using components donated. So we are on a very strict budget.

Funding for any given project is nearly always of great concern.

SgtWookie... The specs for the L2722 look great and I have ordered a couple. From the .png I posted, do you think the schematic you posted will work?

OK, the L2722's have a fairly high input impedance, so it won't take much current at all to tell the L2722's what to do with their outputs. It's a "simple and cheap" kind of solution, which in your situation is good. However, beware of stall currents; motors that typically draw 300mA when running under light load will draw considerably more current when they are in a stall condition (ie: the rotor is locked).

In a stall condition, the L2722's will rapidly overheat and burn up, as they are already dissipating 1/4 of the motor's power even when it's running at 380mA.

If you are going to utilize the additional capabilities that the L2722 provides, you must also understand the shortcomings, and have "plan b" ready to go in case things go awry.

No teeth count? Try running the motor in reverse for awhile; maybe it's jammed. Still no teeth count? Maybe it's overheated - take a time-out for 10 minutes or so.

Just don't starve my cat.

 

Grins.. We are up to "plan L" already, I'll update this thread on Wednesday since the L2722's won't be here till Tuesday.

Thank you everybody for all your help