Server Action "Set Value"... Am I Doing Something Wrong?

Okay… so I am using a Server Action to add up how many times a table called brands is referenced in various other tables in my database.

So to do this I have a Server Action which does a Set Value brand_count=0, and then does the various database queries of the different tables where brand is referenced. After each query, brand_count is updated with the new running total.and then output at the end.

So the Action Step flow looks like this:

First Question: Is this a legitimate way to use the Set Value command, and can I expect it to return the value I want?

So then I have tried to create a Server Connect to link to this Server Action… but when I select the Server Action and click [Select], Wappler just leaves the Action field blank, like this:

Second Question - Why is this?

Best wishes,
Antony.