@GreekWatchmaker , here is a corrected copy that should work on your machine. I am using XFCE with Compositing, you are using Gnome... So, I may have missed the mark - please let me know:
Be sure to start the conky in Conky Manager2, then with it selected, click the Settings Icon and adjust its position into it is positioned properly on your screen. I find setting to Middle Middle 0 0 works best.