reefraff:
If you really believe what you're saying, see how many of these questions you can answer...
Looks like I am missing something.
For what it's worth, I've been getting by just fine using nothing more than common sense.
I make sure my hoses are plugged in a place that allows me to route them where I want to in the most efficent way possible, I make sure my o-rings look nice but have never worried about lubing them even though I do have both oxy compatible and silicon lube in my kit, I tighten the hoses just enough so that they shouldn't come undone unintentionally (a smidge past finger tight is the technical term I'd use), I test for system integrity by slowly pressurizing the system and listening for any hissing (and looking out for flying o-rings!), if I'm really worried about integrity, I might have a buddy check for bubbles coming from my first stage after switching anything, I don't worry about my IP (but assume this is being checked when I take my reg in for annual service) and I tune my cracking pressure (I think) via a knob on my second stages and I keep my octo set to maxiumum so it doesn't freeflow.
It may not be the best way to do things, but I've yet to have a problem. As someone who is always swapping a hose for this reason or that, I would be broke if I had to drive to my dive shop and drop $25 every time I wanted to, say, use my dry suit and its apurtenant LP hose.
That said, I agree that there's no shame at all in having someone qualified help you get things set up, especially if you're feeling at all uncomfortable about any aspect of it.