I've been playing HEE since like, year 91, but then I stopped playing and had to make a new account. As long as I've been playing I've never really tried to breed for anything but color. I'd really appreciate some form of explantion of matching, breeding for rating, what works, what doesn't, etc.

All those points are covered by the guides subforum (member help --> guides). There are some pretty good ones about starting out, getting your breeding stock and matching correctly.

If you want I would not mind helping you get back on track! But I agree with Moony; there are tons of guides under member help for everything!!