Will deleting itunes delete any iphone backups saved on it?

iPhone backups are not stored in the media folders - by default these will be located in C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup - so you should be fine.

"i downloaded iTunes and connected the iPhone to my laptop and used one drive and icloud? does that help?"

Did you have any content in the iTunes library on your PC? The actions as you describe them here would normally:

• create a new, empty iTunes library in your PC
• erase any prior content on your iPhone if and when you sync it with iTunes (either when prompted or at your instigation) - this is standard/required behavior in iTunes if an iDevice is connected to a different library to the one that its been used with previously.

Is the latter what you were referring to as having "accidently deleted iTunes yesterday"?

If this is the case, where did the prior content on your iPhone come from? Another computer, or media purchased via the iPhone from the iTunes Store?

I guess I'm still a little in the dark as to exactly what your issue is, so sorry that I've not (yet) been able to provide a more definitive solution.

Uninstalling iTunes should not remove backups. If you want to get rid of the latter, it may be better to delete them within iTunes (Edit > Preferences > Backups, select the backup(s) you want to remove and click Delete Backups). If you just delete the backup files you may end up with an inconsistent state where iTunes thinks that the backups are there even though the actual files are missing.

How did you create the backup that you referred to earlier? You should retrieve the backup and restore your library/media to the original location before launching iTunes. What you're seeing is iTunes standard behavior when first installed (which would be mimicked by the scenario where you had deleted the complete library). You can, however, just let the scan process run until it is finished (is it finding anything?) and you'll then be able to get to Edit > Preferences and all other UI functions.

I can't really answer that without knowing how you created the backup. You said it was "loaded to the cloud" - are you referring to iCloud (which doesn't automatically act as a backup for your library, just as a means to re-download Store purchases, under some circumstances)? Or is it a 3rd party cloud service (OneDrive, Google, Amazon, ...) and if so what method/tools did you use to backup the library data?

OK, this seems to be as much an issue about the iPhone and its interaction with iTunes as it is about iTunes alone. I'm not an iPhone user so I can't relate your situation to my own experience - its probably best if I leave it to others more knowledgeable that I in this area to respond further ...

Do you mean that you deleted the iTunes folders or uninstalled the iTunes application?