Very similar path as I have followed.
I posted "WDC Tools gotcha's" some time ago here in "Programming" ... would be interested to see you found out other items that can be added.

hi ... I use the WDC-suite of products also ... mostly OK if you are willing to use some workarounds ... and used the TIDE in the beginning for my first "hello world"-kind of projects ... I was hoping/thinking that I could also use the ACAI emulator which is used in some of the provided samples ...

Very late to the breadboard vs wire-wrapping topic ... but still.
I always decide which option to use based on two factors: Is it analog or digital? And is the circuit experimental or final?

Analog vs digital circuits:
Breadboard can be used for both analog and digital work at modest frequencies ...

Many people seem to dislike to WDC Tools suite.
Saying it is old (no dispute there). Saying it is clunky (probably depends on what you are used to).
Saying it has many bugs/quirks. As long as, you are aware of them and can work around them, I call them "gotcha's".

As a beginning .asm and C ...

Have built a WDC65c816SXB-inspired SBC with a 65c816 CPU with an 6551 ACIA for console input/output. Have an assembler startup file that does the basic initing of CPU and ACIA after power-up and then transfers to control to the main() function in a .c file. At the moment, the main() function calls ...