Hi Jock,
there is nothing you should apologize for. My recommendations:
1/ Do not use breadboards for RF. They are perfect for AF, good for
digital citcuits, but RF circuits sometimes work, more often not. And
keep the groundplane as big as possible. The "ugly", "rats-nest",
"dead bug" or "manhattan" style really seem to be far the best for RF
prototyping. Look at
http://w1.859.telia.com/~u85920178/blocks/deadbug_0.htm for more info.
2/ Get an oscilloscope covering at least three times your frequency
range. An add-on unit for your PC can turn it into an oscillscope and
spectrum analyzer for a fair price.
3/ Use the necessary tuning capacitors and their configuration to keep
the oscillator and input frequency near to each other at more than one
point. The configuration and formulae can be found in many books.
4/ Try the oscillator from
http://w1.859.telia.com/~u85920178/blocks/osc7m00.htm ,it should work
reliably in a wide frequency band.

BR from Ivan OK1SIP