EMC2, that is some really great info. I was pretty much doing everything wrong. Big long wires coming off the IC, wires soldered to the wrong leads of the potentiometer...I could keep going, but I'm too embarrased. If not for you, I would still be a pitiful, slobbering loozer to this day!
Thanks for setting me straight.
Anyway, I'm printing out a copy of what you wrote and giving it a go tonight. If you hear of a state-wide power outage in California tomorrow, then it is either another energy crisis or me doing something horribly wrong once again. Anyway, I'll let you know how I fare.
Immudium