Others are talking to you about code... but lets talk hardware...
I'm tossing a random number out hear but I would guess that there are quite a large number of us here that look at abandoned electronic devices as sources of new toys to play with. Am I the only one?
Are many of us PC Board recyclers? I think so...
So my belief is that a part needs to be really... I mean REALLY dead before I toss it out.
While making PC boards yourself is quite possible and rewarding... you should also teach yourself to solder well. Buy a good soldering iron (maybe not so expensive... just not the cheapest) and practice. You are just not going to escape needing to solder if you plan on taking anything beyond "breadboard" stage.
My advice about code. Tackle ALL software problems in small bites and then assemble your many small "solutions" together to get your results. Read other peoples code. When you don't understand... stop and figure out why you don't understand it (research it) before moving on to the next thing...