ive read a few articles about it and i still dont fully understand.

during the year (spring , summer , fall and winter) , where do they go? in the warmer months , do they seek cooler water/shade and the opposite in the winter? what about when fronts come through?

ive been out a few times over the past week or so and i havnt had a single bite. the weather has been warm for a few weeks then we started having cold fronts come though and the temp would go from a high of the mid 80's to a high of mid 70's over night then back to normal. so where did the fish go?

i know it has been covered and the topic beat to death , but i was wondering if there is a simplified or general way to tell what they are doing or where they are going.

Yup, they follow the food.

I don't know LM bass as well as I do SM's, but I can tell you that fish follow the food source, regardless. Where I fish the main forage is smelt. In the spring they run the tributaries, with the bass close by. Except for the spawn of course. But not all bass spawn at the same time, so following the forage is still a good tact to take.

In the summer, the forage moves to deeper, cooler depths.....again the bass are with them. They may suspend in a negative mood, or follow the bait closely. Depends on local weather patterns.

Fall finds them following the bait up shallow once again. For me, this is the toughest time of the year. The bass can be pretty strung out at times. Yet concentrated in others.

Best to find good basic structures (your sonar can be invaluable in helping you with this), which hold a decent forage base. Hit several on each outing and you will find bass.

This is a small snapshot of a greater, much more complicated scenario. Get some local information and learn all you can about the BAIT. Not the bass.  

Are you talking water temp? IMO I don't think a bass cares about the weather outside of the water. The only thing that matters to them is the water temp along with a few other things. But nothing that goes on above the water.IMO of course. Where do they go? From what I witnessed on Toledo bend on Wed. They go where the shad are. Not sure about your lake.