How do I master the basic cooking techniques that trip me up?

You can follow a recipe, but the fundamental techniques still trip you, and that is actually the right place to be putting your effort. Recipes tell you what to do; techniques are how. Once the fundamentals are solid, every recipe gets easier, because you are no longer following steps blindly but understanding them. The basics feel frustrating because they are unglamorous and slow to improve. But they are the whole foundation. A wobbly knife skill or an unsteady sense of heat quietly undermines everything built on top of it. Time spent here is not beginner's work you will outgrow; it is the ground every good cook keeps returning to. Pick one fundamental and practice it on its own, apart from any full dish. Just that one motion, over and over, until your hands own it. Then move to the next. Techniques are learned by repetition, not by reading. Drill the foundation patiently, and the recipes will stop tripping you.