True Beginner

Hi...I feel somewhat intimidated posting here. I am late comer to swimming and a true beginner. I am a 43 year-old male who just took his first real swimming lessons at the Y (SF Bay Area) this summer. It was great. On the day I left, I swam 100y nonstop for the first time (although just barely). Just today I had somewhat of a breakthrough at my condo lap pool (42m long). I had been swimming 8-20 laps of freestyle, one lap at a time. This evening, out of nowhere I swam 8 laps nonstop (340m). My previous best had been 2 laps. I should have pushed for 10, but I wimped out. Nevertheless, I was so excited that I joined this forum.:bliss: Since the summer at the Y, I have been on my own without supervision. So I really am experimenting on each lap. What seemed to work was looking further back to the 7:30 position and trusting myself not to hurry with the stroke. For the first time, I did not feel as if making it across the pool was THE goal. In any event, I am sure this is like learning how to walk for you all, but I am almost to the point of being able to say "I know how to swim," something I have wanted to say and believe my entire life. A couple of other things. I am many pounds out of shape but lost 30+ pounds this summer. And I am not very flexible at all (getting better with swimming?). My work schedule makes swimming a Wed-Monday affair, and often only Thurs-Sun. OK..that should be enough background. My query. In lieu of finding a good teacher, what are some basic tips, online aids, links, etc. that you can recommend for an ultra beginner? I am an ex-engineer, so I like knowing what the heck I am doing (I once tried a teacher, who simply said "Don;t worry, just swim more and with less break and you'll get it--at this point I had no idea whatsoever and could only go 10m before dying). I have no one watching me, just my feel through the water and my fatigue. Things I wish I knew more about (from my eyes) please excuse the laymen's terms.. Front Crawl ----------- * kicking--how much? How hard? what should I be thinking? * arms--apparently, my arms are pretty straight. But when I try to get that bent-elbow, I feel as if I am rushing and getting far less per stroke. * Pulling underwater, esp on the side I am not breathing. LOL! Sometimes my arms sits there like a rudder! * body position when I am pulling on the opposite side as my breathing. Should my chest be perpendicular to the pool bottom or should by chest dip down at the left pec. * coming down into the water and extending my arms: I have been tryign not to slap the water but knife through. But if I don;t flatten my plam after entry I feel I need to increase the speed of my stroke for fear of sinking. Back ---- I enjoyed learning backstroke at the Y, as it was easy to gauge my position and distance using the roof beams. Now I have only the open air and distant buildings. Since coming back home, I had trouble leeping water from flowing over my face and nose. I am either looking too far forward or looking to far back. In the past I would get in position to try to pull too hard, and was told to mellow that part out so as not to dip my shoulders. Any basic recommendations for how to stay focused? In any case, I am sure the list of problems would increase by 10 fold were any of you to see me in the pool itself, but those are the six points that nag at me. Any links, tips, etc,. would be awesome. Sincere Thanks, LateComer P.S. I do scan the web when I can and I will so a bunch of searches on this forum. But if there is anything that might be advice suitable to my particulars, it would be much appreciated. Cheers!:wine: