Tax questions for 2019 (Long Description)

posting this thread for answers regarding my taxes for this upcoming year.
to make things simple and clear for help I will explain my position so it will help clear up any questions to give advice
*DURING THIS TIME BELOW NO TAXES WERE TAKEN OUT OF EACH PAYCHECK*
in 2018 I hopped on with a local company based out of my home state (TX) starting off and to date I have been operating on the owners equipment, (trailer and truck). when I started working for this company the owner was leasing his trucks to a small joint out of Chicago, the equipment was all his still, he just had drivers that drove his trucks across the country but had the lease company's logo on the side. Around January 2019 he moved the lease to another company out of Chicago for some reason. from what little Im told the company was screwing with the fuel card. (Im not 100% sure). Now its January 2019 and the owner is leased again to another hole in the wall company out of Chicago (same story as before, his trucks-their logo on the side).
Around April of 2019 the owner is down a few trucks and drivers and the once flowing income has now been reduced to a trickle. Went out of my way to ask questions about the situation with the owner and mainly got vague answers that raised my suspicion. Mind you this owner treated me with respect and paid me on time every week, even went out of his way to go deposit my check in my bank every Friday.
All good things eventually fizzle out as they did in this case. I wont give exact details but a few things were happening that I picked up on. for example my check was no longer being deposited on time like before. the truck I drove for him was often in the "shop", come to find out later he had his other driver using my truck for short periods of time since HIS truck was also in the "shop". From there I went to him and asked questions and one of the questions was regarding my taxes for the year. This being my first year as 1099 I had no clue where or when I would get my tax info. I was told it would be march and around march I was given my form with my yearly income on it. Got to my tax place and my taxes came out to 8600ish. The tax guy knocked it down to $4770 after he went thru my statements and receipts.
I've started to chip away at the IRS debt for last year but as for next year I would like to come out even at least, I dont even care about getting a refund at this point, if its possible to get a bit extra that would be a plus. Just looking to not owe anything come tax season.
One question I get is if I paid my quarterly taxes and the answer is unfortunately no. I plan to for this year 2019 once ive cleared my tab for 2018. I believe that is the bare bones of the whole deal and I could use some helpful advice from someone who has been there done that.

 

thanks for the reply and yes I am also looking for a position with another carrier in my area. Despite the tax issues Ive got a decent setup such as home weekends and home every other night. This is because I run Texas loads only and occasional detour to LA, AR and OK.
so far its been hard finding a job thats got those sort of routes and schedule. another plus is my truck isnt castrated to 65mph like most companies.

 

Thanks for the reply.
No benefits besides paycheck unfortunately