Why Catholicism? And Why NOT Protestantism?

I have been perusing www.OnceCatholic.org and looking for answers to some of my objections to the teaching of the Catholic Church. Funny that just yesterday I was musing on the fact that I now believe without a doubt that the Catholic Church is the One True Church , yet I'm still wrestling with my "inner Protestant" over some issues but as I read Scripture and pray, those issues/objections are paling in comparison to the Truths I do now believe.

In answer to the question "Why should I be Catholic? Isn't it enough to be a spiritual and moral person?" Once Catholic has this to say:

...you may want to know why Catholicism instead of any of the other expressions of faith. This is a fair question, and one you ought to devote a great deal of thought and reflection to. Consider this: One of the oldest analogies for the Church is Peter's fishing boat, and it’s a comparison that’s packed with good insights into the Church. We're on a journey with a map, lots of stormy weather, people slipping overboard, survivors being pulled in, mutinies among the crew, getting off course, being attacked by pirates. And a boat needs a captain when everybody's losing their heads. He may not be the ideal captain, but if everybody grabs for the tiller we're all in trouble. Then again, for quite some time Peter wasn't ideal either, yet what his crew managed has lasted 2,000 years. (The full article can be found at AmericanCatholic.org )

Protestantism is, essentially, everyone grabbing for the tiller trying to steer the boat themselves. I never thought much about the problem of Sola Scriptura as a legalistic Baptist because I thought that what those Baptist preachers told me my KJV said was absolutely right. I didn't even know it had a name, I just knew that the Bible was my sole rule of faith. What I didn't know was that I was VERY MUCH following the traditions of men in the way passages were interpreted. Learning that dispensationalism is a heresy was very much like God yanked the rug right from under my feet.

I've been reading through the Gospels, mainly to find what Jesus had to say about the End of the Age. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, (I'm still reading through John) I have not found a single verse where Jesus says that He will "rapture" believers before He returns in Glory. If a Pre-Tribulation rapture is indeed part of God's plan for the end times, why didn't Jesus mention it?