Learning how to fly (again)

Last night (like many nights) started out sitting in station. Some of our neighbors were in local, ratting (or mining), when a (now frequent) visitor appeared in local: Conall anDuntrune from the Tuskers. He's been flying around in an Amarr Navy Slicer, and came close to taking out one of our associates the last few times he popped his head in local. Night before I chased him him in a Proteus, but he could easily outdistance me, so tonight I boarded a Taranis. My 'ranis is pretty standard:
[Taranis, Standard]
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Damage Control II
Small Inefficient Armor Repair Unit

J5 Prototype Warp Disruptor I
X5 Prototype I Engine Enervator
Catalyzed Cold-Gas I Arcjet Thrusters

Light Ion Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Ion Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Light Ion Blaster II, Caldari Navy Antimatter Charge S
Small Nosferatu I

Small Hybrid Collision Accelerator I
Small Ancillary Current Router I


Warrior II x2

She does about 3500m/s and about 230DPS (according to EFIT). I've used a fit like this for a couple years now, mostly in nullsec, as light tackle. I felt like it was pretty successful, so I hopped in and went out after Conall. Meeting at long range (about 80k apart) in a belt, I started to approach, MWD and DCU active. Launched my drones and targeted when I hit range. Then I overshot (with Faction Antimatter it's about 1k optimal+2.4 falloff). Of course, my orbit is set too wide, so I'm orbiting (or trying to) outside of my own damage range as his lasers eat through my shields and into armor quickly. I still haven't hit him with my blasters as I realize my orbit is too wide. Two shots from him and I'm almost out of armor - I didn't prepare well for this at all, so I cross my fingers, activate the armor repper, and try to warp out. He didn't have me pointed or scrammed, so...

80% hull and I'm in warp. My repper gets armor back to about 95% before I'm capped out. I reset my orbit to 500m. That plus the MWD should have me orbiting around 1500-1800m, outside of optimal but well within falloff. We chat in local - after all it's a game - and he's just getting used to the Slicer. We talk about fittings, rigs, ships in general while his GCC wears off (and I honestly try to scan down if he is at a celestial to engage again). We chat for a while but don't get on grid again - and he leaves system once his GCC is clear (which was wise because there were 4 of us looking for him now).

I have no real experience in solo PvP, all of it being small gang or large fleet, mostly in 0.0. A good chat - I probably have higher trained "skills" but he is a better pilot - and I would have lost the ship (and deserved to) if he'd had a point on me. Guess the moral of the story is: learn to fly solo PvP in a frigate. I'm going to have to do some practicing, it seems, if I am going to "defend" our losec home.

Solo PvP isn't dead in losec (I already knew that) - but how many folks do it, and in what ships? I'm sure there is a large crowd of Rifter pilots running the solo game (I'll probably use it for my training since they are a bit cheaper than an Interceptor), but if you solo in frigates, what do you fly?