I have swelling every morning behind my 3rd and 4th mtp and my third mtp joint hurts to bend when i wake up. after walking the toe feels better but the mtp pad still hurts on hard surfaces. i had an x-ray & mri and only swelling showed in soft tissue?

You could have gout or early arthritis. But without exam and good work-up exact diagnosis is difficult to make

Your history is incomplete. You wake up swollen. Did you go to bed in pain? The type of pain? Shooting electrical sensation? As part of a differential diagnosis I would consider a Morton’s neuroma or joint capsulitis. Minus evidence on the MRI of a neuroma, consider joint capsulitis as a diagnosis