No idea what I'm doing

[Butterfly]

Have you tried adding a little DE to the sand filter to aid in filtering? There is a How-To article in Pool School. You might also try turning off the pump at night and letting stuff in the water settle and slowly vac the next morn. Also, skimmer socks can be a big help.

After you complete the shock process, you let the FC drift back down to maintenance levels. From there you'll maintain around the target for your CYA level based on the type of chlorination. Recommended levels are in Pool School.

You could also post a full set of test results at that time and let us peruse them with you.
You know how much we all love that

Also, when all is sparkly, we really like to see a pic :-D

 

[duraleigh]

So once I'm done shocking for real, then what are my next steps?

Swimming, drinking and testing, in no particular order. As a good BBB'r, you could skip the swimming part if it got to be a nuisance.

Seriously, enjoy your pool when you are finished shocking, Test often, keeping a close eye on FC and pH. I suppose the adult beverage thing is optional (sigh)