i have to objects in illustrator that i want in my flash movie. some of these
objects contain blends and illustrator effects. is it wise to import the
vector files, or should i create bitmaps of these objects?

what about gradients or other effects? minimal id assume, but ive seen some
tight, graphically intense, flash sites though. does it matter how many
points my obects contain if i stick with all vectors?

The number of points shouldn't matter unless you have wildly extreme numbers of
points.

Also, remember that if you have Flash CS3, it will give you a detailed report
on how it can handle each element in your Illustrator file *before* you commit
to performing the import. You also have some choices about how to handle
certain elements, which you can elect before the the import operation.

sometimes vector based programs ..like Flash ....when drawing an illustration
....like a cartoon character lets say

will create vector points in places where you dont actually need them
it's good practice to take your sub-selection tool & go through the
illustration

& remove as many vector point's as possible & use the optimize option ...as
much as possible

sometimes this can become very tedious ...but when you get the hang of it
you will be amazed as to ..how much file size you save

peace john