Quick Sanity Check...

I think I goofed up. But I want be sure about it I guess.

I'm running a 445 with an LM317,

my wall wart is 9VDC at 500mA.

I set resistance to run the chip at 1.25A...

but I'm only running a 500mA since the regulation circuit is linear. Correct?

I need a better wall wart to reach 1.25A, yes?

^correct. Your wall wart needs to produce a bit over what the diode will demand of it. Not only will it then be able to power the diode fully, but that way it won't get too hot or fail too early..