MinnFlyer-
It sounds like you can fly in spite of yourself.
I would suggest getting on a buddy box with a qualified instructor for a few flights. More than likely you have picked up a LOT of bad habits which he can point out to you. Once you know what you're doing wrong, you can work on flying correctly and greatly reducing your chance of crashing
Sound advise for anyone.
I had a terrible fear of the ground for the first 6 years of flying. I HATED landing until I mastered my Tiger 60. This airplane gave me a lot of confidence in myself. My knees shook every time I had to bring it in to land.
I am now entering pattern flying. I want to hone my flying to enjoy the commeradery in competition, and learn to fly well enough to handle warbirds properly. I have a TF P-51B in the box, and I want to know what I'm doing before I crash it. I've noticed that the very best warbird pilots were at one time patten flyers.
I still intend to use an instructor and buddy box (should he deem it necessary) until I can "do it right."
BTW- I've been flying since 1994.
Brian