Help Wanted!!! (Please)

I am approaching my 100th game of chess and thought when I signed up I would be a little more competitive than I actually am.  My first 20 games I managed a 10 - 10 record but was holding my own.  Since then I have managed to lose nearly two-thirds of my games.  I try to read books and learn tactics but something is obviously missing from my game.  What should I do next to try to get over this hump, I would like nothing more than to get my rating back up to a somewhat respectable average of 1200 (currently a miserable 998).  I would love to hear some suggestions because I'm sure I'm not the only one with this problem, or at least I hope not.