Frameworks:
Let me share my experience. I had the same issues with frameworks as you described above. Some frameworks, such as Mach-II and ColdBox. They use a lot of technical terms that way above my head. However, there are frameworks like Fusebox and FW/1 that give us minimum learning curves.
My favorite is Fusebox 5.x which I can use in either OOP or non-OOP approach. At first, I used it to separate logic from the view. As my ColdFusion and programming skills developed, I started OOP. It provided me a smooth transition.
Using framework, I can spend more of my time to "what to build" instead of "how to build." And, it does simplify mechanism of applications. Let say, in Fusebox, there is a something wrong with adding items in shopping cart. I can quickly pin point where I should look for the problem.
Good luck!