If you are climbing double rope (as I still am) get the hitch climber pulley and you will NEVER look back! Oh so much easier than humping a blakes.
Yes, you could jump right to SRT (single rope) and go with all the fancy new things like rope wrench or hitch hiker, but I'd leave that until later.
So - Hitch climber and prussik...
FIRST thing is you will be pulling rope from ABOVE your friction hitch, not below as you probably have been doing with your blakes all this time. It takes a bit of getting used to but becomes second nature very soon. Just remember to strip the slack through the hitch every few pulls!
Learn to tie the VT or distel or other closed hitch to go with the hitch climber. Eye and eye cord and a closed hitch are the preferred combination.
Choosing which kind of friction cord to go with what kind of rope you have is quite variable. I JUST switched to 8mm HRC yesterday from 10mm Ocean Polyester. It took a bit of adjusting but the difference was with OP I had 4 wraps 2 braids, with the HRC I ended up with 5 wraps 2 braids (same setup as OP didn't grab well and 4 wraps 3 braids grabbed too much) on my XTC fire. I changed because my OP was worn and I wanted to try something different.
The VT is much more sensitive than the blakes, until you get the hitch/rope/ combo right for you, you'll have to attend to it, make sure it grabs before you sit back. and letting it off to descend...take it easy!
Yes, you can ascend/descend with the Hitch climber setup, no problem.
Many climbers are moving to SRT and there are some really cool new bits of hardware out there that make it very interesting and easier that it has ever been thus far...but the hitch climber / prussik combo sound like a logical progression for you right now.