Muddled Bull

I've been working on this goddamned rough draft since June.  Quit the law firm to do it.   Thought last week I'd finally finished.  BUT NO.  uuuuuuuuuuugh

MY WRITING PROCESS SO FAR: 

Step 1: Discovered a character.  Of course I loved him from the start.  (Of course, he's now a she.)

Step 2: "Just wrote," trying to figure out a story to fit the character.

Step 3: Got stuck.  Outlined my way out of  the "block."

Step 4: Used the outline as a jumping off point, then scrapped it.

Step 5: Repeated Steps 2-4 for another seven months.

Step 6: Finished the rough draft?

Last week, I ended up with a messy 55,000 word manuscript.  Sure it's short, but my writing tends toward skeletal; I figured it would fill out to at least 65,000 by the end of the second draft.

Still, something didn't feel right, and I couldn't leave the thing alone.  So I read and re-read a bunch of writing books, let myself daydream, wrote a few synopsis and tried the flash-card outlining trick.

A few days ago, a hook dropped into my head.  The story that stemmed from that hook worked with the characters and climaxes I already had.  It made the rough draft story more personal, more interesting.  It allowed the protagonist to be a full-fledged hero.  It allowed for the creation of a set of interesting villains.  Suddenly, the novel made a hell of a lot more sense.

Now, I've got to write THAT story.  Which means pumping out a new manuscript, for the most part.

It was a triumph to announce that I'd finished my first draft.  After so long, I'd finally made measurable progress!  But now... 

I keep swearing to myself that next time, my process will be streamlined, practical, smart.  No more of this muddled bull.  But I'm not sure how to *do* that... and if it's a dumb idea to try.

What's your process?  Has it evolved with each book?  Each story?  Has that been a conscious decision?  How instinctual is your method?