Spanish language Q&A Forum

Considering estar can be used in the preterite and imperfect with the present participle ( gerund ), are they used in different ways?  Or do they mean the same thing?  For example, do: 

"Estuve corriendo" and "estaba corriendo" mean the same thing?  I was running.  Is one used more than the other for any reason? 

Please help me with “Me encanta tu casa”. I understand “Me gusta” as it pleases me.  However I have difficulty applying this to “It loves (encanta)  me your house”.  

es la "g" cpmpleamente silente en la palabra "guapo" o es un poco sonido de "g"?

The question given is: De los dos películas esa es la peor.

The multiple choice answers are

Out of those two films that one is very bad /  better / bad / worse.

Since película is à “feminine “ noun; Should the question not be De ESAS dos películas esa es la peor. Or perhaps De LAS  dos películas esa es la peor.

In "....ayuda a reducir los efectos...".  is the "a" required because ayudar always takes "a" before an infinitive?  If followed by a human or animal the "personal a" is also required, e.g. Ayudo a mi padre, but not if the object is inanimate. Is this correct?

My understanding is that in Spanish, “un billón” represents a different quantity from “a billion”in English, and this should not be directly translated, but is rather the same as “mil millón.” 

Is my info wrong? Can there be regional variation?

Would it be possible to use active participle? Are there cases in Spanish when both -ido/ado and -iendo/ando can be used and the meaning remains the same?