Bought our boat with the Lowrance elite 4 on it. Everything seems to be hooked up correctly but it usually doesn't actually read anything. It'll randomly work properly for a few minutes and then go back to reading like 1.3 feet when we're in 30ft of water. Any idea what could cause that?

if the transducer is a shoot through the hull, there maybe some moisture getting under the transducer between the transducer and the epoxy..
I had one like that....sounds like a transducer problem..

It's a bullet transducer off the stern

I was thinking about buying a new transducer but was worried the fish finder itself might have issues. Really I just studied topo maps of Lewisville and Grapevine and try to go off memory and whatever looks good lol. Decided it would be cool to get the fish finder working but I'm clueless with electronics. Never really used them much or at all

The transducer you describe is usually mounted with a bracket that has a bolt through a hole on the molded transducer. This connection has ridged "teeth" to adjust the angle of the transducer. The bottom of the transducer needs to be parallel to the surface of the water or tilted ever so slightly to the front. If you have run over something that kicked it up, it won't get a good reading. Will it work consistently when you just drift? Does it start to not work when you begin to move with the outboard? Post a couple of photos of the transducer so we can see how and where it is mounted. Is this boat new, or just new to you? When it stops "working" is it that the depth is wrong, or does the entire screen of the unit go blank?

It doesn't ever consistently work. Boat is a 2008. The unit was on it when we bought it. I jumped out while the boat was in the water and adjusted it to parallel. It's just as likely to work while trolling than while drifting. When it's not working, the whole screen goes blank and it reads usually either 1ft or 60ft no matter what depth we're in. I figured it was a loose cable or something but everything seems to be hooked up right. I can send pictures once I get home

ducer is bad, had birds do the same thing, fine for a while then all of a sudden nutso readings, 689' when it is really 10', temp was the only thing working right when it went out.

look at upgrading and get a larger screen finder. garmin have some 7" for good prices, echomap is what you want for freshwater.

Suggestions for a cheaper one? I'm not looking to spend more than a couple hundred bucks. Beyond that and it really isn't worth it to me

Before spending money see if you can find someone with the same transducer and/or head unit. Either hook your head unit to their transducer or their head unit to your transducer. Should show which one is the problem.