So we have a forklift on our robot that my team wants to be controlled by the joystick instead of a button. I don’t know how i would go about that, as far as teleop.vi programming.
Tell us a little bit more about the forklift mechanism. How is it driven? What does it do?
“Two miniCIM motors are connected to two sprockets via #25 chain. The motors are run in tandem to move the forks.” As dictated by my teammate.
They want it to be tied to the x-axis of our joystick. I am thinking it would be easier for everyone to have two buttons lower/lift the forklift instead.
You can read the joystick axis like a potentiometer (-1 to 1), then map the position of the forklift with a PID loop and some encoders using the joystick axis as the setpoint.
If you don’t know how to use PID or what it is, a quick search on this site will bring up many helpful links. 
Do you want the joystick to control the speed of motion of the motors? You can just get the joystick x-axis value and wire it to a motor set function. That way, if the joystick is centered the motor does not turn, and the farther away from center the joystick is moved, the faster the motor turns.