thanks for all the replies guys. i worked on not hunching on my last ride and it felt much better.

i was curious about stem length because i did some searching online and perusing the search function and i read a couple times that, as a rule of thumb, the handlebar should obscure the view of the front hub. for me, the hub is quite a bit "under" my bar - i know this is a completely subjective measurement and everyone's body geometry is different, so i took that advice with a grain of salt. i guess my objective now is to try to get as many miles under my belt before i get take my bike into my lbs to get a fitting so i have a better idea of what's going on.

thanks for being so helpful, as always.