As for purchasing the special driver IC, we're kinda on a tight budget...
Thanks.... Hmm, if I use 1Mega Ohm resistor, that would certainly speed up the charging and discharging time of the capacitance rite (theoritically)..?
You've got that backwards, you need to reduce the resistor value, remember the RC time constant. To get the real answer to this question, look at the datasheet then figure out how long it will take for the gate capacitance to charge to the voltage that will alow the desired current to flow to work out the switching speed.