This game turned out to be a lot harder than I thought it would.

Apparently, the number that matters is VESTS. You can see your vests on the upper right hand side of the page: https://steemd.com/@jayteekelchner1

The value of your account is based on the current price of Steem which has been dropping dramatically in the last month. It is $2.09 right now when it was $3.03 a month ago. That is why your account value dropped. If Steem rises, your account value will rise.

You need to follow the VEST figure on steemd.com. it is in the upper right hand corner of the page.

The thing that infuriates me is that my upvote is still worth so little. It is worth only 0.001 SP. I upvoted your post. If you click on it; you will see that it is still below payout level. You are at 100% voting power. Vote on your post. It will still be below threshold.

The only way a new account can get a payout is if someone worthwhile upvotes your post.

Your are lucky to be from Colorado. There appears to be some support for fellow Coloradoans.

I bet you could get some support; If you left some intriguing comments on posts in the created/colorado section: https://steemit.com/created/colorado

There appears to be several meetups and cybercurrency clubs in the state as well.

Good luck. It appears that jump starting accounts on SteemIt is a lot harder than I thought it would be.