I haven't been able to update my iPad 2 to IOS 8 because I do not have enough storage available. If I buy more iCloud storage (20 GB) would that enable me to download the new IOS or is that a different storage. Hope this makes sense to y'all.

No, iCloud storage is for storing documents & data/backups to the Cloud. You need to free up space on your iPad either by deleting unwanted apps, Photos or Music. What is the Storage capacity of your iPad? You can view what is using storage by going into Settings->General->Usage. Under Storage tap Manage Storage. You will see a list of apps & how much space each is using. You can delete unwanted ones from there.

Update via iTunes, it requires a lot less room.