Howdy clay ol' buddy.
Well there is no real way to play, everybody likes it a different way.
I tried the 100% thing for a time but didn't enjoy it all that much, so I made it a little easier. Mostly it depends on what you want out of the game.
What set up are you running now, TMO, RSRD, etc. that's a start.
What areas are you interested in improving, patrolling, tracking, convoy approach or torpedo attacks?
For my money the best learning tool is to go on a single mission such as Hellcat and forget about completing any objectives but just try different things to see what you want to do.
When you get a situation where you want to improve just post and there are dozens of guys that will help you out.
If you have a specific question I'll do what I can to help or at least tell you how I handle a situation.
Magic