one of the first things you might do is to take a few of your games and analyze if you are making bad moves or not? You can use a chess engine to do this.
You cannot really evaluate where you stand now unless you do this.
To improve you need to know what you are doing wrong and take steps to correct.
set your game-seeking formula to only your rating or higher. if you indeed are underrated, statistically you should reach "your rating" soon enough :P
one of the first things you might do is to take a few of your games and analyze if you are making bad moves or not? You can use a chess engine to do this.
You cannot really evaluate where you stand now unless you do this.
To improve you need to know what you are doing wrong and take steps to correct.
I refuse to use a chess engine for anything but to give myself an idea of where to look. Further than that and I feel as if I am making things too easy.
@Love
I have been considering this. Before I embark on this little journey, getting into a normal sleep schedule might help. My sleeping habits are atrocious.
It seems you understand that converting a win even with a big material advantage isn't always easy, judging by the way you talk about making it difficult for your opponents. So why do you assume that winning a little material means your game will be easy and you can stop trying?
Ratings reflect your play against weaker opponents just as much as against strong ones. If you can't get it together then finding an occasional strong tactical shot isn't that big of a deal. It's not a game of who finds the big tactic first. Remember that Alekhine quote about having to beat him three times?
I would recommend playing games solely to not blunder pieces, and consider losing without blundering a win. At your rating you'll soon find that not blunding pieces wins far more games then cute tactics will.
I still make mistakes and the occasional ?!, but about 50% of my games are without blunders, at lesat not ones I can find with a quick analysis and Chess Engine. Still, my mentality is crap. I am getting too comfortable and that is never good.
In my opinion, completely stop studying chess and just play some slow games for a week. Put all your effort into your games and if you feel like you are getting tired/bored from playing.. either stop playing or pull yourself together. Chess is all about focus, there is no point of playing if you aren't fully focused. In the end you will just have excuses like this if you play carelessly.
Consistency is part of a player's strength.
If you play at 1600 level when fully awake and at 1200 level when you're not, then your rating will hover somewhere between those two, whatever your technical skills at the game are. 
I've seen many boring positions that, upon looking deeper, I discover that there's a lot more richness to it than I first thought. Convince yourself that there's no such thing as a boring position, and take pride in trying to win a game as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Oh, and one more thing -- change your avatar!
I've seen many boring positions that, upon looking deeper, I discover that there's a lot more richness to it than I first thought. Convince yourself that there's no such thing as a boring position, and take pride in trying to win a game as efficiently and effectively as possible.
That might not be possible with time controls. But, that's where post-game analysis helps as you can spend as much time as you want looking at each position.
So Phylar, do you play OTB either in tournament or with friends? That helps also.
I am 73, and I work out three times a week looks like me a little, lolo But getting back to chess, take it for what it is and go only as high as you can with out breaking the mental bank. You will enjoy the game for ever! There is nothing wrong with being below 1800 rating and having just as much enjoyment. I say that only if you find you cannot make the high rating you have ambition for. That was a good 'move", trying for the USAF, you impress me to be resourceful!
I've seen many boring positions that, upon looking deeper, I discover that there's a lot more richness to it than I first thought. Convince yourself that there's no such thing as a boring position, and take pride in trying to win a game as efficiently and effectively as possible.
That might not be possible with time controls. But, that's where post-game analysis helps as you can spend as much time as you want looking at each position.
So Phylar, do you play OTB either in tournament or with friends? That helps also.
I would love to play OTB...except I live in Central Wisconsin and the only chess club nearby would be a couple hour drive. Maybe an 1.5h if I push it. Everybody else in the area, to my knowledge, are super casual or just not there.
But trust me everybody, I am not just gonna shut down and quit. Just very odd that I can play (tactically) at a 1500-1600 level and yet blunder like a 1200. Perhaps I am at that halfway point where things have yet to balance out properly.
Alright, I am not sure if I can say this without sounding like a selfish jerk...but I'll try. Please try to bear with me here.
As a few of you know, I have been attempting to improve my understanding of the game and have made some progress. I have also been fiddling with the Alekhine Defense to test my tactical eye and have had some good progress with it (not sticking with it as I prefer the Nimzovich in response to e4). As such I have been hovering around the 1400 mark, though this is mostly due to playing games at 3-5 in the morning and blundering pieces away like a jackas*.
I have even taken to sacking a piece in some positions to see if I can pull back from it and win. Don't worry, it won't become a habit. Thing is, while playing those around my rating range I find myself getting bored and distracted because the tactics that are going on seem so...easy to me (See? Not trying to make this sound selfish and jerk-like...). So thus I stop paying so much attention and, wouldn't you know it, blunder a piece away and eventually lose, though I generally give one heck of a run for their money while doing so.
I am working on a different mentality and hope to shy away from being distracted. Now to clear some things up: I am not trying to be an egotistical twit. I am not the best at anything chess related, but a guy attempting to organize the confusion in regards to my playing strength. I have been studying...a LOT. Going by my own schedule I try to study six times a day for 20 minutes each. This is a classic study pattern and it works, at least much better than hours at a time. Finally, I do lose to players rated 1550-1600. But it isn't a "I stepped on you and you lost." sort of game as I don't normally feel so much as I am pushed against a wall as I am trading blow for blow with them, they just have 'longer reach'.
In summary:
Any advice from more experienced players? I know I cannot be the only one that has been in this situation, it cannot be that rare. My idea is to just keep pushing and to change my mentality which should significantly improve my playing strength. Finally, there is, of course, the less likely possibility that I have been playing against 1400s who are weak tactically. Frankly, I am just not certain.
I shall now proceed to drop kick myself in the face for posting this ^^' (it's a talent :P)