I think the approach you are taking involves a lot of analytical thinking in English. I find it more helpful to get as much Greek into my head as possible.
I like to listen to the text repeatedly using my MP3 player. I wish there were a free, complete recording of the New Testament in the Restored pronuncation, but for now you probably have to choose between modern pronunciation and Erasmian. Louis Sorenson has a list of recordings here:http://www.letsreadgreek.com/resources/greekntaudio.htm
I'm using Zhodiates, which costs about $15.00 at Amazon. But here's another modern Greek recording that is clearer than Zhodiates, and includes the text:viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1084&p=5155#p5155
When I'm working on a text that's complex for me, I often try to put one phrase on each line - this is easier than diagramming a sentence, and less analytical, less thinking in English. Some of this requires actually understanding the text, but you can at least separate the lines according to punctuation as a first step, and make other obvious separations even before you fully understand the text.
1 Ἀρχὴ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ.
2 Καθὼς γέγραπται ἐν τῷ Ἠσαΐᾳ τῷ προφήτῃ·
Ἰδοὺ ἀποστέλλω τὸν ἄγγελόν μου πρὸ προσώπου σου,
ὃς κατασκευάσει τὴν ὁδόν σου·
3 φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ·
Ἑτοιμάσατε τὴν ὁδὸν κυρίου,
εὐθείας ποιεῖτε τὰς τρίβους αὐτοῦ,
4 ἐγένετο Ἰωάννης ὁ βαπτίζων ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ
κηρύσσων βάπτισμα μετανοίας εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν.
5 καὶ ἐξεπορεύετο πρὸς αὐτὸν πᾶσα ἡ Ἰουδαία χώρα
καὶ οἱ Ἱεροσολυμῖται πάντες,
καὶ ἐβαπτίζοντο ὑπ’ αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ Ἰορδάνῃ ποταμῷ
ἐξομολογούμενοι τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν.
6 καὶ ἦν ὁ Ἰωάννης ἐνδεδυμένος τρίχας καμήλου
καὶ ζώνην δερματίνην περὶ τὴν ὀσφὺν αὐτοῦ,
καὶ ἔσθων ἀκρίδας καὶ μέλι ἄγριον.
7 καὶ ἐκήρυσσεν λέγων·
Ἔρχεται ὁ ἰσχυρότερός μου ὀπίσω μου,
οὗ οὐκ εἰμὶ ἱκανὸς κύψας λῦσαι τὸν ἱμάντα τῶν ὑποδημάτων αὐτοῦ·
8 ἐγὼ ἐβάπτισα ὑμᾶς ὕδατι,
αὐτὸς δὲ βαπτίσει ὑμᾶς ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ.
9 Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν ἐκείναις ταῖς ἡμέραις
ἦλθεν Ἰησοῦς ἀπὸ Ναζαρὲτ τῆς Γαλιλαίας
καὶ ἐβαπτίσθη εἰς τὸν Ἰορδάνην ὑπὸ Ἰωάννου.
10 καὶ εὐθὺς ἀναβαίνων ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος
εἶδεν σχιζομένους τοὺς οὐρανοὺς
καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα ὡς περιστερὰν καταβαῖνον εἰς αὐτόν·
11 καὶ φωνὴ ἐγένετο ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν·
Σὺ εἶ ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός,
ἐν σοὶ εὐδόκησα.
After that, I get out Zerwick and Grosvenor's Grammatical Analysis of the Greek New Testament to figure out the parts I missed, or use LaParola:http://www.laparola.net/greco/index.php
That also helps me correct my lining-out of the text, so I go back and fix things there.
I like to do this AFTER grappling with the text, because the process of working through the text develops your language skills a lot better than trying to learn the words ahead of time, IMHO. You learn things in linguistic context. You learn how to figure things out. Both good skills.
The parts I still can't figure out, I ask about here on B-Greek.
Then go back and listen to the text again several times in Greek. Let your intuitive mind work.
ἐξίσταντο δὲ πάντες καὶ διηποροῦντο, ἄλλος πρὸς ἄλλον λέγοντες, τί θέλει τοῦτο εἶναι;