I have a philodendron that is has long vines w/leaves mainly on ends

Is the plant in a pot?

You can trim it back to the main trunk it will come back even better

I would clip the vine just above the firs leaf and reroot it and then plant it in pot. cut the plain fine back to the pot. it will probably grow new roots.

On my philodendron, where the vines are long and lost their leaves I cut them off, water a lot and first thing you know they have grown new vines and the cut off ones grow as well.

All the energy of your plant is being absorbed by the length of the vines. Therefore, to reduce the drain, shorten the vines. Cut below the lowest nub to encourage leaf growth.

Once 'spindly' it will not 'fill in'. You can cut it way back and hope for the best or replace it.

When in doubt, prune!

Thank you very much for the info, was very helpful.

I was given my husband's great grandmother's philodendron shortly after we were married and I put it on top of the fridge to trail down. It promptly dropped dead after a few weeks. Fortunately I had given my grandmother a cut of it that she rooted so I was able to regrow it! I suggest rooting a few pieces of it and maybe transplant them after you thin it out.

Try putting the cuttings with leaves at the end into a glass of water and let them root. Once rooted you can plant them back into the pot to make the plant look fuller.