Sorry, I'm not trying to be arrogant, I've been an electronics technician for a very long time, and most of this is so basic and simple (to me at least). You are right in saying that it's confusing, especially if you are real new to it, and if a lot of different info comes to you quickly. The more you learn, the easier it will get for you.
You had a good start right off, when you said these things:
"I've had this problem since I moved into my house" (translation: it never worked properly, right from the start. That's much different then: "it used to work, but now it doesn't", and is therefore harder to diagnose)
"We all use the same dish, and nobody else has this problem"
"My neighbor had a problem like this, and it was his receiver"
So, my technician thinking basically narrows it down to your receiver, or a coax cable issue to the dish, which could include the wall plate (if any) that your receivers coax connects to, to go through the wall. Those plates have a connector built-in, and have been known to go bad, and not pass certain frequencies. That would knock out some channels, but pass others. Also, there must be a DP switch between you and the dish, and it's just possible, that the specific port you are on is bad.
Another good test, would be for you to take your receiver to a neighbors house, and see if it works there. Remember to do the "check switch" test each time you move it.