Nothing to be sorry about, you have a tank and want to see it run. We all have been in this position to vering degrees at one point or another( I mixed up the wires in my Mato Sherman and almost fried the board ( it actually did smoke) The wife said if I don't get it running, that was going to be my last tank. Thank god for the help here, I got the wires corrected and it started).
Someond had mentioned on bending the crystal connecting legs a bit to ensure good contact. Have you tried this already?

Jim