DD_bwest

you really dont need that much more than a mun shot.   i would read up on delta V and engine ISP.
over budget and build your  vessel to have 2500m/s delta v.  then all you have to do is get it in orbit.   the spark or the terrier would work from there,  dont forget solar panels and some batteries.
 

your going to want to head into key bindings in the main menu.    Z is the default key binding for putting throttle to max
 
when in the main menu go into settings,  then input,   then vessel  and it will be the 7th one down on the left

i just get around it by never using shift-tab.    backspace puts focus back to your ship, tab moves it 1 forward(which i only ever use if i have a node i want to focus on)   and right click focus for everything else
it used to be that if your Navball was down, you couldnt change your throttle.  I cant remember if that was a game wide change, or if i found something in options that did that lol
 

well its a good thing  to learn and practice. its a multi step process.   your first step would be to get there and match your inclinations.  the ascending and descending nodes are when yours are the targets orbital plane cross.  so its the spot you burn to match your inclinatio. this is done by pointing to either your normal or anti normal.  at the descending node you are going below it, so burning normal  will what you want.  at the ascending node, you want anti normal.   right click on the orbital location marker so that it keeps the text of your angle showing.
ince youve done this, circulize about 30km above your target
so once here we need tto plan the intercept burn. sine you are above your target, it will be catching up to you so wait until it is about a quarter orbit away from passing you and create a manuever node.  add retro grade to it until your orbits cross and it woll show closest approach markers. click on the center of your manuever and slide the timing of it around tour orbit to bring it closer.  if you cant get one on that orbit, go around once more and try again.  youll be shooting for an intercept smaller than a km.
next, make sure you navball is set to target and aim retrograde. when you get to yor closest approach burn until your relative velocity  is zero.  once yiu do this, you are essentially in the same orbit but stopped compared to your target.
now you point at the targrt to push yourself towards it, which will make a new closest approach. when you get to that point, stop yourself again and repeatthe process until you are right next to it

you have to turn on advanced tweakables if you havent
also if its a new career you need to unlock struts on the techtree

tanks with higher numbers will drain before lower ones,  so you could break down your tanks and have them drain bottom to top
eg.  53 for the lowest, 52 for the next, then 51, and finally  50. 

going without sas can be a real challenge, but it is certainly alot easier now with the fuel flow options.  draining your tanks bottom to top
taking advantage of the new auto strut and rigged atrachment, if your total part count is low, you can split your orange tank into smaller ones and have them drain upwards, steadily raising your center of gravity higher, making it more stable.   
also as mentioned above, launch clamps will help alot. when that thing loads, it will bend and flex.
 
i also tend to find SDB's to be chaotic, making it harder to control them, and they dont follow your prograg as well when not using sas. but that may be something to do with my designs.
also if you tip a little in the wrong direction, like enough for a 3 to 4 degree inclination. it can be easier to fix that little bit further into your gravity turn when your thrualst vector is more horizontal.    atleast i find that easier

ah sorry i miss understood. you cant have the same data twice, so if your in the same biome and run the test youll just have the same data. youll have to run the tests in a different biome.    surface biomes, lower atmosphere, upper atmosphere, low orbit and high orbit.   there is also a corresponding biome for EVA in low orbit when above surface biomes.