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Hi John,
The eyepiece and barlow you bought are fine. Remember in a PM I sent you that being able to use anything over 300X for a really good image is very, very rare. What you were seeing through the EP and barlow was the aberration due to atmospheric conditions. It is what Rob described as 'poor seeing'. Winter, as a general rule, gives better seeing conditions than the warmer months as the cooler atmosphere is less turbulant.
You will find that you'll get most practical use out of using the 7.5mm neat. 160X is about as high as the atmosphere normally allows. Your description in the first post pointed that out. As you bumped up the power, you lost image quality, not due to the barlow though.
There is nothing, nothing wrong with the "York" or "Tasco" EP you got. Actually, it is a very good buy. I had also mentioned in a PM that cheap high power EPs are poor. There is a limit to what an inexpensive optical design and inexpensive lens materials will do. The option you've choosen is a very good compromise: a better optical design coupled with improved lens materials to give you a really comfortable, AND practical eyepiece. That is what you want.
If you want to raid the piggy bank, well, go for it. Throwing money at something can help overcome certain obstacles, but not ego for some. I'm an advocate for more clever amateur astronomy, taking into account money, materials, optical principles and human eye physiology. I'm quite happy with a 4 cylinder boxer engine.
Also a little bit of research will help out alot too, as many products are made by the same firm, just rebadged. This will spell out big savings too. When you find out that SkyWatcher, Tasco, Celestron, Synta, and a few others, are really all the ONE company, makes you wonder what you are really getting. And then they also rebadge their stuff for generic brands. See what I mean. This is by no means limited to them, I'm just using this as an example. It is a means for making money. Nothing more. Buyer beware for real value.
Mental.
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