[Harv72b]

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By my very nature (smart and analytical) it should seem like a game that I should thrive in, and I'm not.

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These skills (and confidence) can actually be fairly dangerous to have while you're still learning the game & playing on microlimits. I know that I had a fair amount of trouble when I started out with overthinking & making too many "expert" plays in the micros. At some point, you need to tone down your thinking while at the table and go to a more ABC approach--the old "walk before you run" thing. Multi-tabling helped me to do this, although I still capped myself at two tables for the first 8 months or so.

Remember, many of your opponents in the 1/2 & below games are not good at poker, plain and simple. They are either loose/passives who just like to gambool, or as you pointed out, are other bonus whores who are playing a weak/tight game in the interest of getting in as many raked hands as possible with as low a risk as possible. Neither category of opponent is going to be making a lot of moves against you, and so neither should you try to make them that often. It's very easy when you're confident in your intelligence and analytical ability to pigeonhole your opponent to a very specific holding, and try to outplay him postflop when he's not sophisticated enough (or is playing too many tables while working off a bonus to recognize) your play.