Welcome!
So much of it is a matter of personal taste, so the best thing to do is experiment until you like what you have. There really is no list of settings that works best for everybody.
And in general, I'd avoid the in-sim flight lessons; as a RL pilot I have issues with a lot of the stuff in there, and the "virtual instructor" seems crazy sometimes.
It's not a bad idea to check out the lessons, but fly the exercises on your own, without the AI CFI prompting you. Much easier to make progress that way.
Or better yet, get yourself a real Private Pilot Handbook, which outlines the basic maneuvers, and create your own sessions.
One last thing: if you want to fly a proper C-172 in FS9, you absolutely must try the freeware 172 from RealAir. I have over 100 hours in real C172s, and I think the RealAir model is much more like the real thing than the default FS9 Cessna.
Get it here... about halfway down the page. I think it's also available in the SimV library.
http://www.realairsimulations.com/list_ ... =downloads