If you haven't already (and in a recent post to a separate thread you indicated you haven't), you should read through both the BrightScript Reference Manual and the Roku Component Reference in their entirety. I would easily equate an extra 15 minutes reading the reference docs to saving 3-5 hours debugging later on.
I suggest paying particular attention to any code examples in the docs, and trying to make sure you understand everything they are doing. If you don't understand an example, spending the time to figure it out, or asking why it's explained to do something different than you would expect is a great way to really get to know what's going on. It's also easier for anyone you ask to reply authoritatively, since they will have the example in it's entirety.