Item levels in smaug 1.4a

I am having trouble with item creation using area editor 1.33.

Everytime i create an item using th program, when i get in the game it auto-assigns a level to an item and i have to change it in-game EVERY time the mud boots. is there a way to get around this or am i doing something wrong?

Also, if there are some snippets, could i please get a URL? I'm not the best coder in the world and i would love to get my items fully functional.

Should i create items in-game?
Or is it better to use the area-editor program?

Check out this topic on your question:
http://www.gammon.com.au/forum/bbshowpost.php?bbsubject_id=4799
[EDIT] Oh wait, that is your topic. It was answered, wasn't it?

And as for snippets, check out:
http://www.mudmagic.com

the snippet that uses v5 to force a level on an equitment is on the rafermand website, dont have a link off hand but you should be able to find it easy enough.