I don't really have to read this all to comment really..
CS:S is about a 1/3rd the difficulty and quality of CS 1.6, and in both cases, they are a hard learn, but especially CS 1.6.
There is a learning curve. I can't get friends who haven't played it to excel it, pretty much at all. You really do have to play for months before you really get the hang of it.
Knowing how to shoot properly is something that actually needs to be learned, because recoil actually matters, movement actually matters, etc..
This stuff is lightly apparent in other games, but it's not quite the same thing.
I was a very good CS 1.6 player for many years, I did play many hours a day, and I did get called hacker on a daily basis. It's not an insult, it's a compliment.
There was a time, too, when I wouldn't even venture to play source at all, because in comparison I would double my k:d ratio effortlessly..
CS:S gets rid of a lot of what is good about counter-strike. I suppose you can say it's a learning curve, but it's a worthwhile one.