First time welding...and I suck!

[team39763]

I have some brake brackets that need to be welded on my rear axle. A buddy let me borrow his Campbell Hausfeld 110v mig welder with .035 flux wire. I watched several videos and read a few online articles so I felt comfortable giving it a first try. All I wanted to do was a couple tack welds so I could mount everything and get the truck off the jackstands. My friend who normally does my welding is gonna finish them off correctly in a few weeks. I just figured even a beginner could throw down a couple tack welds.
But nothing worked. It just made a big mess of spatter. I tried hi and low power, I tried fast and slow wire speed. The brackets and axle tubes were cleaned really good too. What should I be doing? The brackets are 1/4" steel and being tacked onto the axle tubes. I'd appreciate any advice y'all could give me.