windshield wipers?

[twinly01]

I have a 99.5 jetta. my wipers are out of wack and I am trying to fix them. There are 2 problems I am having, any thoughts or input will help!

Problem number 1 is when I first turn the wipers on, both drop slighty (about 1 inch) in the wrong/opposite direction that they are suppose to travel before they make their normal sweep, causing them to smack the window cowl, its a horrible noise.
when they are running on full speed (ex. during heavy rain) they do not smack the cowl, its only when I first turn them on, its as if its not returning their proper resting spot I dont understand why the wipers drop slightly before making their sweep??

Problem number 2 The Drivers side wiper isnt making its full sweep on the windshield. I have tried everything, and the only way to make it reach the top of the windshield is taking the wiper arm off and putting its resting spot practically halfway up the windshield (which looks ridiculous) its as if the wiper only goes halfway up the windshield, I dont understand why this is??