Thanks for all the post. I think I figured it out. The problem was I was feeling like a loser because I couldn't even break the sound barrier on Chieftain level. But, it turns out it's not me it's the game. I think that an argument can be made that Chieftain level may be harder, tech wise, then higher levels. So it turns out that a "launch into space" victory on Chieftain might be more difficult then you think.
After sifting through a ton of information, I finally determined A fundamental strategic error I was overlooking. The fundamental strategy was that the player never really has the "TECH" advantage. It's the AI the ether has the Tech Advantage or Disadvantage. This may seem redundant, but it isn't. To be a good player, It is very important to understand that your Civ will always develop techs at the same pace regardless of difficulty level. This "Tid-Bit" of info has always been implied, but never expressed and it isn't intuitive, to say the least.
The following is for Gkeewbees, experts probably are very aware of this!!
So At "Chieftain" level the player only has the advantage of "Whom" has what tech. For example, let's say the French are my niebors and the English and the Zulu are on a different continents. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the strategy should be to Trade like hell with the French to get out of the dark ages build a harbor and the Colossus wonder and find the other Civs. Trade and sell your techs with the distant CIvs while keeping the French in the dark and charging up the @$$ for Tech so that they are in AWE of your culture. Then you can pick and chose who has what, Concentrate on culture and Wonders, and have the AI do most of the Tech work. This will dramatically speed up everything. Here is a tech graph by level:
The First Number is the ( % ) you need to devote to Civ Rush
The Second number is the ( % ) you need to devote to Tech Trading
Chieftain
Regent
Deity
75 / 25 50 / 50 25 / 75
Does this make any sense?!?! Understanding this little subtly basically change my entire outlook at the game. This helped me discern when to stop rushing and switch governments, when and with whom to trade techs with, who I should br allies with, and who I need to blow off the face of the earth.
My problem was I kept to myself till about 1700AD. By that time, I didn't have enough time to trade all the required techs to speed up the game. To test my strategy, last night I loaded one of my games with the settings I listed earlier. Just for fun I loaded it at 1945. I then concentrated on Culture and Traded tech's to everyone, I even gave a few away to those how couldn't afford them and it boosted my diplomatic level from "Polite" to "Gracious". By 2000 AD, I not only had everyone loving me but I was deep into the modern age. I even feel confident enough to ether have a Diplomatic U.N. victory or a Space Race victory.
Thanks again
