Basil?

Let me apologize for my hiatus from the blog - I'm sorry! - and make excuses for it some other time. I need to get to the heart of a critical matter.

I cannot grow basil. I would love to grow basil. I need help.

I can barely get the stuff to germinate from seed. I have purchased lovely, thriving, pricey clumps of mature plants, only to watch them wither within days. Most recently, I bought 8 little ice-cube-tray plants, each with 4 adult leaves, and divided them among three pots. They showed promise, but two days ago I lost one of the plants, and now several others are starting to get black tips on their leaves, which I know all too well will proliferate towards the petiole, signaling certain demise.

What am I doing wrong? I Googled this and read about how even an idiot can grow basil. Is there some voodoo I should know about? How much and what "flavor" of sun does it need? Watering regime? Something special about the soil or pot? My plants aren't big enough to remove the apical meristem; I figure height vs. bushiness is a luxury I can't afford right now.

All advice about growing basil and comments about me being a dumbass are welcome. Alternatively, I will accept suggestions about how to preserve basil (and hopefully not always in pesto form), should I need to resort to buying the $5-for-a-giant-box-is-the-only-thing-available-at-the-grocery-store stuff.

Thanks!