Jerry,
You've got a good plane which will treat you well if flown well. Take the advice of Speedbird and others about training with an instructor. With many thousands of hours on over 75 types of aircraft, I still ask for a checkout when flying a new type.
Cherokees are among the minority of light aircraft with an all flying stabilator. For the role for which this aircraft was intended, the stabilator works well. However, in takeoffs where early rotation is desired, they are less good than stabilizer/elevator combinations. The reasons for this are a little involved to explain, but suffice it to say that the whole stabilator can be stalled up side down during takeoff, and create a much longer and unsafe takeoff. Early Cessna Cardinals also suffered from this, and were AD'd for an areodynamic change to improve it. It sounds like you might have already experienced this unknowingly.
Avoid early rotation until a very qualified Cherokee pilot has given you thorough training. In my early days, I was right seat to an "experienced" Cherokee pilot in an Arrow (retractable 180 HP Cherokee) He pulled the poor plane off the ground much too early, and we were stuck in ground affect with a fully stalled stabilator, completely unable to climb and no longer over the runway (thank goodness for low fences and flat gorund). It was only my selecting the gear up that got us climbing. The event was very memorable! I later experimented with this characteristic by myself in the Arrow on the miles long surface of a frozen lake, where density altitude was very favourable. The affect was easy to reproduce, and difficult to fix without re-landing.
Bottom line, competent instruction. Your nerves will thank your ego!
Cheers, Pilot DAR