Hello Captain Crunch,
yes, with me it was in fact similar as it was for you. I played around with my guitar for years, but I haven't made any real progress. A constant improvement began since I had lessons by a guitar teacher. Here at Guitar Tricks I want to learn playing the music I like to hear. Like you I think it is right to do the course from the beginning. It is a good idea to play too easy beginner-exercises in a more complex way.
Have fun playing your guitar