Morning Glories: Poor MG...What do you think I should do??, 0 by Wifeygirl

Wifeygirl wrote:
Hi guys. First post, happy to be a new member of DG. =)

OK, here's the deal. I planted this Blue Dawn morning glory plant last summer. It grew up my trellis very happily, and across this string above my sliding glass door. The flowers that were already on the plant bloomed at the time, but it hasn't bloomed since. The poor thing is not doing very well. After reading through all the MG posts I've realized that it has quite a few strikes against it!
1. I fertilized it when I planted it. I know I know, I've since learned that I probably burned the roots and caused it not to flower and grow instead, but I am a new gardener and I've read that if you haven't killed a few plants, you haven't planted enough. This is how I live with myself anyway. =)
2. It is planted in this patio which is mostly shaded. All it gets is very intense California afternoon sun for a couple of hours at best.
3. It has a pretty bad case of spider mites. (I learned this after reading another helpful post here in DG.)

This picture was taken after I ruthlessly cut all the dead growth and any ugly or chewed leaves. As you can see, that doesn't leave much left! The remainder of the leaves are still spotted due to the spider mites, even the new ones.

So my question is, what do you guys think I should do? I am planning to get Neem oil to try to deal with the mite problem. But assuming that is taken care of, do you think this MG is a lost cause? What would you recommend? Should I cut the thing way back to the ground and let it grow up the trellis again? Will it produce new leaves on the old growth to cover up the ugly bare vines? Is there any way this thing will ever flower after I fertilized it (stupid! stupid!) and planted it in only 2 hours of sun?

Anyway, I'm interested in any and all of your suggestions. I was planning just to rip it out awhile back, but now I'm starting to wonder if I could salvage it. Please weigh in, help me out!