Chapter problems... and story dissections

I'm six chapters into my all time (so far) favorite project The Hunt and I'm currently struggling.  I can't seem to capture  the tone I picture in my head.  A big part of it is that I'm not  spending enough time living with my characters.  Not even an hour a day between work commitments and the time I spend with my family.  As for the rest of it I"m not sure.  Davis is vibrant and alive in my mind.  Most of  the other characters feel right, but I will admit to a nagging problem with one of the subplots (to the point of me scrapping it  after drafting it   in initally) and I really fear I am both under and over planning parts of the novella and not letting it flow.  Either way  I am in need of a serious rethinking as I really dig in to the meat of the story I want to tell. Anyone want to pull the vision in my head out for me and dissect it into what it should be?