i have the wheels that came stock with my KHS flite. would like to upgrade to something a bit nicer and lighter but dont want to spend a lot. any recommendations:? how are the mavics?

mavic ellipse track wheels are nice but from my experience they can require a bit more truing than handbuilt wheels.

Mavic Ellipse been working great for me for the past 4 months. I highly recommend them. But they are heavy wheels. Seem to be very strong. I commute on them daily.

Phil fixed/fixed, 3x to Open Pros.

get a handjob. Any handbuilt wheels from a stand-up shop are less trouble in the long run. Ellipses and cane creeks are damn sexy, but I wouldn't trust them over potholes and up curbs.

Surly, Paul, Phil, (pick your price range) 32h 3x rear, 1-2x front, laced to DT Swiss RR1.1 rims

3000 + miles on the set I had and they are still perfectly true. All miles were on some of the worst streets in Chicago.
One problem I have seen though is a few people having the rear hub seize on them very shortly.
This happened to 2 people I know and 1 a friend of mine knows. All within the first 2 weeks of normal riding.

https://sheldonbrown.com/power_wheel.html

paul high flange to DT swiss RR 1.2

36h formula or surly to cxp33s, crows foot back and front. seriously.

I got my Miche/open pros from Ben's for 200. I think I go tthe last set though

how old is the KHS?

Relace your low flange formulas to open pros.

I have a KHS Flite (2006) and the wheels are **** after only 300 miles. Lets talk budget wheels here, i'm sure this has been exhausted to death, but lets start with under $300 wheels. Non-velocity deep v/formula....

openpro/dt comp/formula.

This is correct.

open pro/velocity aerohead/velocity fusion/cxp 33/take your pick...