Hi Joel,
Thank you for helping to answer this question by dutch_CAT! Your suggestions are exactly what I would have suggested too.
Hi dutch_CAT
I am a bit curious: if a motor is to run continuously then why use a stepper motor? Stepper motors are typically used for positioning and not to be used to drive a fan, for example.
In any case, if you set 2 x 10^9 counts and the motor turns at 5000 pps, it will run continuously for 400000 seconds, or 4.6 days. Once the motor stop running, have it trigger a relay to restart itself for 2 x 10^9 counts again and it will run on forever. Is a brief stop and restart every 4 days intolerable for your application?