How do I go about mining this solo?
At this point the likelihood of finding a block solo mining is very slim.
Solo mining:
CPU mining you can just use the mining button from the wallet.
For GPU mining, you will setup your conf file (see bottom of OP), and point your mining program to 127.0.0.1 rpcport 11223 with the username and password listed in the conf.
Oh okay. I have another question if you don't mind.
What is the difference between pools? Is there a variance between pools for the payout?