I had the same problem when playing FFVIII. I lost interest in it when I couldn't beat Cerberus (I didn't realize it was just optional back then ^^"). So I stopped. About a year and a half later I wanted to play it again, but didn't know what happened.
So I started again. And it was the best decision I made. ^^"
Somehow I understood the junction system in my second play-through. My characters were strong enough and even time wasn't a problem anymore. I was able to undo all the mistakes I made when first playing it. So, for me, it was a good decision. ^^

You should give it a try. If you don't want to level your characters, just follow the story until you reach the point where you last stopped. Then you can just use the other save file again. :>