How can I stop view counts from someone viewing a thread multiple times? As in member A views the post 10 times and member B views it 10 times the view count is 20. I want it to be 2 and not twenty as I don't want someone to be able to view their own thread multiple times to make it seem popular.
In order to do that you need to store view data in the db. That means additional load to your server.
How much additional load are we talking about? also how can I check my server load?
You don't want that information stored or accessed. Trust me you'll regret it fast.
Would a plugin be able to make this happen or would it be more work than it is worth?
Yes, it's possible with a plugin but more work than its worth needed to make the plugin.
However, as a said before it isn't worth it because that's mean more additional load to the server.