No walk should ever be "level". Layout where you want the walk. They should substitute the word "flat" for "level". This is very simple. Don't over think it(sometimes reading too much is not a good thing). Put away the bubble machine (the level). Finish grade the area between the steps and the driveway (the whole area without regard for the walk). Then excavate (dig) out for the base material that goes under your walk. Build up that base so that it is the thickness of the brick (most concrete pavers are abut 2-3/8" thick) lower than the adjacent grade. Use a board to "screed" (smooth the surface evenly) the surface to make it even (sloped, but not up and down). Then set your bricks. If there is a cross slope (right to left as you walk) on the adjacent grade, you should make sure that your walk has a slight cross slope in that same direction (you can use the bubble machine for checking the cross slope). If it is pretty lever from left to right, you may consider adding a slight amount of sand down the middle of the walk to add a slight crown to the walk. This helps the walk not become sagged in the middle over time and looks nicer (in my opinion) than a flat walk. Prepare the base just as you would to do it flat.

Moss, thyme, etc. will be happy to grow in sand. You may consider topping up with polymeric sand.

I'm trying to solve what I think is the same problem. I built a beautiful tri-color patio last summer, dryset on sand with a compacted "breeze" base. I then used breeze to "grout" the joints. Survived its first winter with little to no settling; my only complaint is that the larger pebbles in the breeze work their way up to the top and eventually on to the flags, so it's not very barefoot friendly. That's a long-winded way to say I'm exploring polymeric sand and other "joint stabilizer" formulas. What I've found is that (1) polymeric sand is virtually unknown west of the Mississippi River, and (2) the various liquid joint stabilizers I have found are designed for narrower joints, like with dimensional cut flags or pavers. A couple people have told me that they would not work for wider joints like mine (averaging about an inch between stones). Any ideas would be welcome.

We had the screenings delivered by a dump truck. We used a construction quality wheelbarrow (tires never go flat) to haul and dump the screenings onto the landscape fabric. When you sprinkle the screenings with water, they compact down. Layer the screenings no more than an inch deep per layer sprinkle the screenings with water use the hand tamper tool (a heavy square, flat weight on the bottom) and just go along and tamp the screenings Repeat with the next layer. When the screenings are tamped down and still damp from the water, you can walk on them to lay your brick. Tools: construction wheelbarrow hand tamper (or rent a mechanized one) stakes and a Sharpie pen to mark the levels (screenings, brick) string string level work gloves rubber mallet chisel and mason's hammer (you'll have to cut to fit so ask if you need a wet saw for brick -- flagstone is casual and no straight lines were needed) You'll need the tools for mortar. Ask your brick masons how to do that. Here's the formula to calculate the amount of screenings: for a 14x20 patio with a 4-inch deep bed of screenings, the formula would be 14 x 20 x 0.33 = 92.4 cubic feet divided by 27 = 3.42 yards. You may have to purchase in full yard increments. Diana -- no serious problem with weeds at all. My husband uses a leaf blower to keep the dirt/pollen/mulch from settling on the patios and walkways. I think without dirt settling in the joints, it's hard for weeds to take hold. If the polymeric cracks years later, you can just re-apply a thin layer as done during the install. Easy to patch. We haven't had to do that, but a guest drove a car over one end of our walkway, so I may have to patch that in a few months.