I've been playing acoustic off and on for 20 years and I got an electric
washburn (no whammie) and an amp ...and my amp drives me nuts, it's allways hissing and crackling
and it seems to have two settings really loud and silent
That is unacceptable. What brand/model of amp did you get? Your amp is half of your instrument.
I would advise not straying too far off the beaten path in both electric guitar and amp brands.
One can still get a good Fender (Mexican) or Epiphone (like a Gibson) guitar for about $400. If you like your Washburn, keep it.
The safest amp brands to get are Fender, Marshall, Vox, Mesa Boogie and Peavey. Yes, there are other good ones but leave that for the future.
Get a chord book and learn all of the first-position chords and at least the names of each note on the bottom (E) string, for starters.