I'm being told that Istanbul is hard to navigale and we should be going on tours, private or group to see the city. Normally we go on our own to see the sights, but would appreciate everyones thoughts. I'm also being told that taxi cab drivers speak very little english.

Am i being "taken for a ride"?

I have been to Istanbul 3 times and have never had a guide and have used taxis numerous times.

Sights - the sights clustered near the Blue Mosque (Blue Mosque, Haghia Sophia, Cistern, Grand Bazaar) are all do-able on your own. A guide might be handy for Topkapi Palace, but you might be able to get one there (I was on a small tour for that trip, so we had our own guide). And we did the tour, with required guide, at Dolmabache Palace.

Taxis - as long as you are going to regular, touristy places or to/from a hotel - you shouldn't have any problems. Just make sure the taxi meter is on when you go. The ONLY problem we had was with a driver who didn't turn the meter on and wanted to charge us WAY more than the norm (we knew because we had done that trip before).

I did not find Istanbul difficult to explore independently in the least. We did take cabs one evening and didn't have a problem making ourselves understood (our hotel may have helped on the outbound trip though, I can't remember). Otherwise, we took the tram or walked (we stayed in the Sultanahmet area).

Was the tram easy to navigate?

I had no trouble with the tram, ferries or taxis, and the only guide I used (and recommend) was Topkapi because it helps avoid waiting in line.