I'm assuming your idle is about 900 rpms, so starting off at 1.8-2k is too high. You should practice on a flat area bringing up the clutch (with the gear shift in 1st) until you feel it catch. Do that several times by letting up the pedal and getting a feel for where the car starts to creep forward. When the car starts to move, put the clutch back down to the floor. Repeat until you've confidently identified the friction point.
Next, do the same thing, only this time when you hit the friction point, start giving it a small amount of gas. Keep doing this until you know how much gas to give it so that it doesn't stall. You should be able to get going smoothly between 900 and 1100 rpms. Stalling a few times like this won't hurt the car but holding it on an incline like you mention will have you at the garage with a 1500 dollar repair job to change the clutch. Once you've got that down, practice smooth acceleration:
1. Clutch up to friction point
2. Slowly start to give gas as you simultaneously let up the clutch
3. Once going, get that foot off the clutch!
You only need to contact the clutch pedal with your foot for starting out from a stop and from changing gears. DO NOT rest your foot on the clutch at any time, even when stopped at a traffic light. Car should be in neutral and foot should be off that clutch.
Revving the engine to 1.8-2k while engaging will wear that clutch out very fast.
On a steep incline, do not creep the car. Do not be afraid of rolling back, this is the biggest fear to get over. Practice on a small incline - like a driveway - starting from a stop. Let the car roll back a little as you engage the clutch, don't try to rush it, or you'll stall. Another way is to come to a stop and engage the hand brake. To get going, lift the clutch to the friction point as before start giving gas. As the car starts to "hunker down" as it wants to move, start releasing the hand brake slowly until you're moving.
Youtube has some very good videos from a guy called "SoggyRice" or something like that. He demonstrates all this in a Mini.
You only need to worry about manual transmission failure if you are abusing the clutch. Abuse of the clutch includes riding it, resting your foot on the clutch pedal while driving, holding the clutch down while at a stoplight waiting for the light, hard launches from a dead stop and poor shifting technique where you do not fully depress the clutch or get off of it fast enough. When downshifting, get used to blipping the throttle to raise rpms to accomodate the lower gear, letting up the clutch too slowly when downshifting also causes excessive clutch wear.
Signs of clutch failure include clutch related noise, lack of power and jumps in rpms under high acceleration. Again, you can search youtube for examples of this. Usually you can smell when your clutch is burning - it's a horrible smell.
If you learn to drive it properly, there's no reason why a clutch can't last the life of the car.