OK, I am working on some more from what Sid said but thought I should comment on part of Brads message right away.
Brad, if your instructor told you that the elevator controls altitude and the throttle controls speed (at ANY point in the flight) he may need a quick dope slap to the back of the head.
That is ABSOLUTELY wrong! It all relates to trim speed and although you may get an initial increase in altitude from a new elevator position, the plane will seek the new trim speed and stop climbing. It should return to the original altitude (with some oscillations that can be mathematically defined and should be a part of the test program) and stabilize at that new speed.
If you increase throttle, the plane may initially accelerate, but its speed will oscillate around the original speed (usually VERY few times) and the plane will CLIMB. Some of these effects may be slightly changed at test points like maximum altitude (NOT service ceiling!) or where the aircraft is ready to stall, but the plane will react to changes in elevator trim and throttle the same all the time in normal unaccelerated flight.
Hank