Yes, electric guitar can be a different beast. The dynamics you can get are different, though you can apply them to the acoustic guitar as well. Palm muting is a technique I was finally able to perform thanks to the lessons here (it was either Chris S. or Anders). I found that this technique applies to the acoustic as well and sounds pretty cool. Al DiMeola uses muting on the acoustic a lot.

As an accopmlished acoustic player, I can see how you find this REALLY frustrating. I've been a decent rythm player for over 20 years. I have some amount of technique down, but I just could not put together a decent sounding solo. I even appealed to Anders' personally for help!

I think you just need to be patient with yourself and try to focus on the lessons rather than trying to push forward through the lessons.