As for the "deeper in the stack bit", I've gone all the way down to assembler (don't ask, I wanted to program for the Game Boy; wouldn't do it again even if someone paid me a lot of $$$)
Never been too good with people though, but I'm working on it. :)
Trust me. I get it. But if you don't have the HS diploma, it'll be something you have to explain for YEARS. People have certain expectations for others, even in high tech. The HS Diploma is one of those things. The college diploma still has a lot of the same stigma, though it's weakening. This stigma is a risk you'll have to weigh in your college or startup decision as well.
As for 'deeper in the stack', well, learning assembly in various guises is a good first step. Understanding how the pieces fit together, and how to make things faster is the next. I'm not sure if you're ready to start absorbing Knuth and the Art of Computer Programming (for reference, I'm not sure I am either), but that might be a good start too.
Oh, and another thing: understand the math. Learn the math behind this computer stuff. Understand how to measure the complexity and cost of a given algorithm. Something that might help there is Project Euler. It's something I enjoy hacking on when I have free time.
<-- hopes my children learn to code like you have.
Yeah high school was super boring to me to. Looking back I would have tried harder to conquer my ADD/ADHD and focus on any of the ideas I had at the time. If I was you I'd throw all your passion into the one most passionate project you have. And run with it. Use kickstarter after a prototype is done and get some funding that way, etc.
As for the "deeper in the stack bit", I've gone all the way down to assembler (don't ask, I wanted to program for the Game Boy; wouldn't do it again even if someone paid me a lot of $$$)
Never been too good with people though, but I'm working on it. :)