Bookworm:
Yes I know drag rotates but I was trying to keep drag out of it. Pounds, g or whatever, we're not interested in numerical values. This explanation of yours makes no sense to me.
You can resolve forces however you like. However, it is more instructive in this argument to resolve them horizontally & vertically (as englishal has so ably pointed out, lift is perpendicular to the flightpath). If you don't resolve them this way, you will never be able to see how those forces come about. Have another look at the NASA link to see what I mean.
Specifically,
Nasa climb diag