Germination woes

Heat mat, Fox farms happy frog soil, cardboard ish seedling trays…patience…I'm missing something.

I tried the "paper towel" method and I think it a) got too hot due to a glitch with the heat pad and a cookie sheet tray, b) too wet, c) not enough air? Idk. I left the seeds out in the garage through part of the winter, but they shouldn't have been harmed by that, could they?

I direct sowed the seeds into the trays on 3/8. Now I keep knocking over the damn tray when I try to water/mist them! T_T godzilla please help. All the germination stuff is donated from friends or family. I saved seeds from my own plants last year + bought some Ohio peppers seeds.