I missed this thread at the start.
I wish Paladin were here to contribute.
Sounds like you are off to a good start Charlie.
Having shot pistols competitively and even professionally, one of the best pieces of advice I ever heard given about how to become a dead shot with a pistol:
"Buy two of them. By the time you get one worn out, you'll be as good as you want to be with the second one." 
Like you, I had my old man eyes play a factor. A big one in my pistol shooting. After I started needing readers and lost my clear, up-close vision, I pretty much had to re teach myself how to shoot a pistol with bad eyes. I'm not as good as I was in my youth, but I wouldn't want me shooting at me...
