I love the premise of the X3 games, i just bought albion prelude on a whim and i want to play X3 and understand wtf is going on and how to progress. I've tried in the past and failed miserably (despite being fairly savy and a eve online player of many years). Any advice for someone who so desperately wants to enjoy this gem?

I've had the same problems. I've followed all the guides to the letter but I can never get far enough to keep the money flowing. I hope they can ease the learning curve in X: Rebirth.