L.,
First of all ... don't fear! It's not too late! ;) I thought the same thing. My daughter (14 months) has never been the best sleeper (her brother is a great sleeper ... he's 3 now). We let her sleep in her swing (one of those cradle swings) for naps and nighttime for the longest time (she's small, so it worked for much longer than with her brother). Then, she started sleeping in her bed at night, but was still taking naps in her swing.
I'm not a huge cry it out fan, so we never really did that. And, I'm proud to report that (when I believe she was really ready, and could tell it based on how she reacted when we put her down) she's been sleeping in her bed (and putting herself to sleep, too!) for naps (sometimes takes 2 a day, and sometimes just 1) and nighttime ... this has been probably just the last 2 weeks! We've taken the swing out of her room! ;)
I remember that my son was a better sleeper from the beginning, but also got much better around 13 or 14 months. I think they just have so much going on (starting to babble, walking, eating solid foods, giving up the bottle, etc.) that it's just h*** o* them to sleep well, too! We just kept trying different things with my daughter (different music stuff, routines, etc.) and found something that worked ... and then I believe she was just ready to sleep better on her own!
Best wishes, and I hope that for both of you she starts to sleep better. ;)