I tried out Ubuntu 14.04, but decided I don't like Unity. It seems resource hoggy and I prefer quick responsiveness over appearance. I liked Lubuntu on my netbook so I wanted to install that over Ubuntu. According to some stuff I Googled, it should have been as simple as installing lubuntu-core with the Synaptic Package Manager.

I tried this and purged the default Ubuntu/Unity stuff (I think), but now the Lubuntu display is all screwed up. Icons on the desktop don't snap into symmetrical lines but instead into seemingly random positions (but snap to those positions). The menu bar is on my right monitor instead of the left (matter of taste, I guess). But also nothing appears on it except the clock even though in the preferences there should be a menu, a workspace switcher, etc. Default Lubuntu stuff.

I'm comfortable with using the command line, so if I needed to strip everything down I'm willing to do that.

Any solutions other than installing a fresh Lubuntu image over everything?