This is rigged...

WHY did my tactics rating start at 1000 when my 1st account started at 1800?

I think there is a place you select your level when you first create your account. You might not have noticed it

They upgraded the site by installing a module that can detect your approximate level of strength. 

Looks like you picked the 1400 start rating level. So, the tactics start rating might be bugged. I would report it through Help (?) > Report a Bug from the Tactics stats page.

Staff will look into it and hopefully they will fix the bug. Maybe they will bump your rating up to account for it, since it will take a while at 5 a day to get to 1400 even

I clicked on Beginner, which i think starts at 1000. Man, it was hard to get up from there

Here's the thing, tactics ratings aren't the same as your other ratings in the beginning

They used to be.