Words are inadequate

Revising... I can work on a story for three hours and have no measurable change. I dunno.

I have this problem too. I dislike revision (a lot) and this is part of the reason why. I know people who will make a list of different issues to fix on a pass-through, so maybe that's a way of measuring it? Like, okay, I fixed the structural problems today, and tomorrow I'll go through and enliven the characters. So maybe that's one way to do it? I usually look at it on a page-by-page basis, since I revised of a hardcopy (I put big checks on a page as I revise them). Buf if you're doing major changes, that may not work, either.

I think I need to try another story, and incorporate some of what I've learned into that.

That's the best way to learn to write (imho). But like I said, I'm not the biggest revision fan in the world (it doesn't give me the thrill that drafting does), so I could be biased.

Good luck with VIable Paradise!