Scotty, take comfort in the knowledge that you're not alone and sometimes despite your best efforts, nothing will work.
I had two computers. The iMac was connected to the printers, so I used it to print images from photoshop and thought I was getting decent prints - I had followed all the advice.
Then one day, I happened to be working on some images on my iBook and rather than transfer them to the iMac, I decided to hook up the printer to the iBook and print from there. I had printed other images in the same series from the iMac and the difference was astonishing.
In fairness to Apple, the iMac I was using was never intended for graphic work (it's about 2 years old in people years) and I've since "loaned" it to my Mom who loves it for games and email.
I've never done any calibration to the iBook, and it continues to put out really nice images.
IMHO, color matching is like herding cats
Take care, Margaret