Pleased to hear my crafting progress won't go the way of the dinosaur. (Away, on a spaceship, to the other side of the galaxy, pretending I never even existed.) And it just goes to show you, in the long run, if you really stick with it, obsessive compulsive behavior will pay off eventually.

I was a bit worried there, seeing as my evil twins on the test server found themselves once again firmly entrenched in square one.

And FYI... in regards to your manual... around level 6 or so you're given a mission to go to Memory Alpha. And at Memory Alpha you're told to talk to a Vulcan NPC. Who runs you (hands-on, scan a little, craft a little) through the basics.