Dating and Social Skills (really lack thereof)

So I'm pretty much socially retarded, and I only seem to be getting worse. And, most troubling, I don't really know what to do about it. It seems almost impossible to me to start up a conversation with someone. I am now very well programmed to answer with the regular platitudes to questions like "how ya doing", but I can't go anywhere after that. I don't have much else to say in this post even... that's how bad it is. I'm just a little buzzed and a lot lonely, and whatever. The saddest thing is even the "inhibitions go bye-bye juice" doesn't work anymore. I can get drunk as a skunk and I still don't think I talk to anyone. Years ago I had an experience where I felt like I was locked inside my head, and no matter how much I yelled I couldn't get my mouth to speak. Now I feel almost like that all the time. I've thought about TRYING to go out and drink too much and make an ass of myself just to break the deadlock, but I don't know if it would even work (if I'd do anything besides just be the quiet guy who's drinking a ton), or if it would do any good from that point on if anything did happen.