Assalamu Alaykum sister,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and posting the article.
It is good you have taken the first step, which is asking God sincerely to help and direct you to the truth. Keep asking Him for guidance as much as possible, because guidance is from God alone. Even as Muslims, we continue to ask God for guidance in every prayer in recognition of the fact that we need God every moment of our lives to help us remain firm on the path of guidance and to make us even more persistent on it. The servant does not have the power to benefit or harm himself, except by God's permission. Therefore, God has directed us to invoke Him constantly so that He provides us with His aid and with firmness and success.
You said that your choice to convert was a spontaneous one and emotionally based. This may be a cause for some of what you are going through. It is all the more reason you should go back to the basics and build the foundation. I believe that there
is proof for which direction is the truth. It does not make sense that God would create us but give us no indication of what He wants from us. He is the Most Just, the Most Merciful, and He does not want us to be misguided. That is why He has sent Messengers and Books to guide humanity to the truth. The last of these were the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of God be upon him) and the Qur'an. The previous books were corrupted over time because their protection was entrusted to their respective peoples. But God knew that He would be sending further Prophets to correct the distortions. In the case of the Qur'an, God promised to protect it Himself because no more Prophets would be coming after the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of God be upon him). That is why you will find that no book has been preserved like the Qur'an, and no science of verifying narrations matches the scrupulousness of verifying the teachings of the Prophet (peace and blessings of God be upon him). So in your studies, perhaps studying the Qur'an would be a good starting point. We believe that the Qur'an is not only the message for mankind, but it is also the miracle proving the truth of that message aswell. You will know from Bibical stories that God supported His Prophets with signs and miracles. The greatest miracle given to the last of His Messengers was the Qur'an. Here are some posts which detail some of the divine qualities of the Qur'an:
http://www.islamicboard.com/comparat...tml#post176538
http://www.islamicboard.com/clarific...ml#post1257311
http://www.islamicboard.com/discover...slim-life.html
Studying the life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of God be upon him) is also a very strong evidence for the truth of Islam and would be well worth reading about. On the topic of proofs regarding the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace and blessings of God be upon him), some useful threads/posts:
http://www.islamicboard.com/clarific...d-prophet.html
http://www.islamicboard.com/comparat...tml#post194052
http://www.islamicboard.com/seerah/1...ophethood.html
In addition to revelations from God, we believe that God has created within us an internal measurement that allows us to recognise that Islam is the truth. Mankind is born in a state in which monotheism is integral, and the Prophets came to remind man of it, and to guide him to that which is integral to his original nature. Every human being has the belief in God imprinted on his soul.
These are some of the proofs and tools that God has given His creation to find the truth. I hope you will see that it is not a case of blind faith or picking religions out of a hat.
I read the article you posted, and it mentions a number of difficulties faced by converts. A portion of it talks about the flaws in Muslim communities but you mentioned you live in an isolated area, hence I assume that is not a key factor affecting you. In any case, it mentions an important point when the author says, 'Islam is the prescription for spiritual and societal illnesses, and if Muslims do not apply its teachings both inside and outside their mosques, the blame is not to be placed on Islam.' Recently I watched the story of how a famous caller to Islam, Hussain Ye, accepted Islam in his late teens. He is a Chinese Muslim living in Malaysia. He began as a Taoist, then became a Buddhist, then became a Christian, and finally accepted Islam. Interestingly, he also faced many difficulties from the Muslim community at that time due to racial divides, problems with acceptance and so on. Yet he persisted in his chosen path and he mentioned a profound lesson he learnt from it. He said when God wants to prepare us for something bigger, he tests us and puts us through a training process. Therefore going through difficulty and suffering may carry much wisdom and we find this to be a common theme in the life of the Prophets and their early followers.
Regarding the feelings of guilt, shame and fear, is there anything in particular that is causing you to feel this way? God-willing, that feeling of peace will return. May God guide you and keep you steadfast, Aameen.