Evan,
Basically, your fatal flaw here (for your very 1st outing) was that you happened to pick a poor racquet for your 1st attempt... and then, you didn't tell any of us that little detail. Turns out, it happen to make a big difference - in this case.
As "eelhc" already eluded, that "big box store" frame is an inexpensive (likely aluminum) frame that is really not built to be strung over and over again (like "real" graphite frames are). Most of them get strung only once (at the factory) and the people that use them never have much of a need to restring them (often times, restringing it costs more than simply replacing it with another cheap racquet).
Consequently, most of these racquets found at Walmart, K-mart, etc. (as well as lots of beginner kid's racquets) are mass produced aluminum frames that frequently have fewer tie-off holes than standard frames do (leaving you little choice than to string it 1pc., the way the factory did).
First, you need to understand that most, but not all, modern graphite frames tend to have a total of 6 tie-off locations available - even though you will only be using 4 of them (for 2pc. stringing) or even only 2 (for 1pc. stringing). This makes life easier. You have less constraints (than a frame that has ONLY 2 or ONLY 4 total locations).
You can do 1pc. or 2pc... you can typically start your crosses on either the left or right side without problems arising... you don't have to concern yourself with how many crosses there are or where those cross knots are going to end up being. Nice and easy, right?
For 2pc. stringing, here's where those 6 tie-off locations will be and which 4 will actually be used.
For racquets that have the Mains ending at the throat: 2 tie-offs will be located near the head end of the hoop (only 1 of which will be used - for the top cross), and the other 4 tie-offs will be located near the throat end of the hoop (only 3 of which will be used - 2 for tying the Mains and 1 for the bottom cross).
For racquets that have the Mains ending at the head: 4 tie-offs will be located near the head end of the hoop (only 3 of which will be used - 2 for tying the Mains and 1 for the top cross), and the remaining 2 tie-offs will be located near the throat end of the hoop (only 1 of which will be used - for the bottom cross).
Now, here's the issue that caused you problems...
Those cheap frames tend to only have 4 tie-off locations (2 near the head and 2 near the throat). This essentially means you have to do it 1pc. (with only 1 of the 2 available head locations getting a knot and only 1 of the 2 throat locations getting a knot). One knot ties off the mains (for the Short Side) and the other one is used to tie off after you've completed all the crosses.
In the case of this Wilson Impact 110, the Short Side of the mains would have been tied at 8T and after completing all the crosses, the top cross would've been tied at 5H.
I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that the Wilson Impact 110 had strings in it before you restrung it.
That being the case, before you cut out the old strings, did you happen to take note of how many knots there were? And also, exactly where they were?
If not, that was flaw #2.
When you're first starting out, you need to take these kinds of notes, or as "eelhc" suggested in Post #6, take photos which you can reference back to.
And even then... frames could have been strung/tied off incorrectly by a previous stringer. However, at least you have something to compare against the written pattern after you look it up (do they match up or is there some kind of disparity?).
I did respond to the private email that you sent me. Did you receive it?
Do you happen to remember me (highly) suggesting, out of the 3 racquets you previously told us you have (16x15 Juice 100S, 18x20 Graphene Speed Pro, 16x19 Pure Drive Tour Plus) that you use the Juice 100S for your first outings.
In case you didn't receive the email (or don't remember my suggestions), here it is again - copied/pasted below...
Best of luck on your 2nd go 'round. I'm sure you'll be just fine.
Evan,
I would suggest you begin learning with one of your Wilson Juice 100S (16x15) frames. Much easier than the other frames you mentioned.
There are no special considerations with those frames, PLUS the crosses will be MUCH easier for you to weave (being that they are farther apart).
The other 2 frames will pose specific issues that you will have to deal with. I'd wait until you have a better understanding of the whole stringing procedure before you set out to do one of them.
MOST all modern racquets have some holes that must be skipped while installing the mains (this is where the crosses will go in later on). For example, mains skip 8H & 8T or... mains skip 7H,9H & 7T,9T
Bad thing about skipping holes - you have to remember to skip them (easy for beginners to forget them).
Good thing about skipped holes - you don't have to worry about shared holes.
In the old days (lots of wooden racquets) you frequently didn't skip any holes when doing the mains, but then later on the crosses had to share some of the holes with the mains (this can be tricky for beginners).
Good thing about shared holes - you don't have to remember any skips.
Bad thing about shared holes - they can be tricky to get the crosses through later on (especially with softer strings).
The 18x20 Head Graphene Speed Pro wouldn't be a good option because it actually has some shared holes (which is QUITE unusual being a modern frame). If it currently has strings in it, take a look and you'll see what I mean. I believe that 8H,9H & 8T,9T are the shared holes for that frame.
Keep in mind, ANY 18x20 frame will be trickier/slower to weave because tighter patterns create less space to weave AND more string friction.
Is your Babolat Pure Drive Tour Plus the 2015 version?
If so, I would NOT use that for your first few string jobs. If you do, you may very well run into problems without knowing what you got yourself into.
It has something very different about it (due to the STUPID "FSI grommet system") when it comes to installing the crosses, that you need to know about in advance.
However, if it's NOT the 2015 model, then it will not pose any special problems and will be VERY much like doing one of the Juice 100S frames (just with 19 crosses, instead of 15).
All 3 racquets, that you mentioned, have their mains ending at the THROAT. Therefore, string ALL of these using the 2 piece method. Don't try to string any of these using the 1pc. method.
Both, the Juice 100S & Pure Drive Tour Plus have 16 mains that start at the THROAT (6 holes in the bridge). This means, for both, that the mains will also END at the THROAT and be tied off there.
The Graphene Speed Pro has it's mains start at the HEAD (8 holes in the bridge), however, because it has 18 mains (instead of 16) it will still have the mains ending/tying at the THROAT.
Quick reference:
How many holes in the bridge/throat of the frame?
If 2, 6, or 10 - mains START at the THROAT
If 4, or 8 - mains START at the HEAD
If a frame has 16 mains:
Mains that start at the HEAD will end at the HEAD
Mains that start at the THROAT will end at the THROAT (like the Juice & Pure Drive)
If a frame has 14 or 18 mains:
Mains that start at the HEAD will end at the THROAT (like the Speed Pro)
Mains that start at the THROAT will end at the HEAD
Obviously that racket only has tie off points that allow for a one piece stringing job, which really sucks.
