I am not sure that the 10u cap would cause that sort of problem. The impedance of a cap varies with frequency not voltage level, although I am not sure how a fault would affect that.
Breadboards are not connected the same as veroboard. They are like this:
All images taken from this intro to breadboarding. It's a short read and a very well written intro to using a breadboard. For myself, I find it easier to breadboard a circuit direct from a schematic, but it can also be done by systematically working through a vero layout. I just find it a little harder since the layout is arranged for compactness not readability.
A lot of the Tagboard Effects layouts are modified from available schematics though, so it can be worth working directly from the layout you plan to build.
You can pickup a decent breadboard from Jaycar for not too much money. Here's how I have mine setup for pedals:
Other holes on the angle bracket are drilled to accept switches as required. No power switch, I just add/remove the ground lead from the battery. That circuit is 3/4 of a Rat (no tone control or output buffer at that stage).