It sounds like in your youth, you had the correct approach of putting in a lot of volume of games and getting lots of practical experience (and game analysis is extremely useful too), but what you did "wrong" back then was not give each move the same level of thought as you currently do.
You can't just move and "hope for the best." This may work at the lower levels (and especially in bullet/blitz), but eventually you'll reach a level where your opponents can calculate better or defend better, or exploit positional errors better etc. and then your advanced version of "hope chess" will fall apart.
At least you now recognize this. Better late than never. You still advanced really far on your chess journey based on your chess.com rating. It is far from being a titled player (like a GM), but it is also WAY above average. Don't undermine just how far you've progressed and how much chess ability you've gained on your journey! 
Hello. I am a 38 year old male, and I want to just sum up my chess journey.
My dream was to become a grandmaster and I never even came close. However, as a 38 year old I find myself a better chess player, and it is not because I am more booked, or because I have gained valuable experience, considering I don't play much anymore. I stopped playing chess for like 7 years due to other commitments.
So to make a long story short. I will just say that, the reason I am a better chess player now compared to my youth when I would spend many hours playing blitz and analyzing with an engine... is because of my improved thinking process.
During the game I am constantly asking myself, and constantly telling myself, is this a blunder, can it be refuted, will it ruin my pawn structure, will it give black counter play, will it expose my king, will i create weaknesses, will I lose time or tempo, can I create something out of this position.
Whereas before I would nervously just play out moves hoping for the best, hoping my opponents blunders, nowadays I try to use a strong mind to keep making solid moves, until eventually either my opponent blunders or I can make minor improvements that can give me the more comfortable game. This is not something I was able to learn reading a book about Capablanca's end game. This was more spiritual, strengthening my mind, learning to be calm. This is the culmination of my life, having a job that required I remain calm in the face of intense pressure.