How can I redirect in PHP with this setup below without getting header output errors, I understand that nothing can be printed to the browser before a header is set, I am lookin
As long as you have no script output before the header() function you should be fine. Check there are no echo's or whitespace. Also putting ob_start() at the beginning can help. sometimes there is invisible whitespace - changing the format of your document to ANSI or Unicode may help!
As a note (although I think you already know) header does not terminate the script so the exit() (which you have) is a definite requirement.