Most likely your saddle is too low. This accounts for the pain in front of and above the knee.
And certainly you're using too hard a gear. This accounts for the pain at the sides of the knee.
The big ring is for racers going fast. New cyclists tend to use too hard a gear and pedal at too low a cadence thinking this is somehow "more efficient", or that struggling along "gives a better workout". The easier gears are there for a reason--so you can take it easy on your knees. You compensate for the reduced speed by pedaling faster.
Stay out of the big ring unless you're whizzing along above 20 or 22 MPH. Use easier gears and spin faster (keep a higher cadence). Work your way up to a cadence of around 90 RPM. (For most of us over 50, the big ring is purely decorative.)
When I started out, this was exactly my problem. I used too hard a gear and maintained a cadence between 50 and 60 RPM. The first time I got my cadence up to 72 RPM, I thought my legs were going to fly right out of my hip sockets. These days, my measured average is in the mid-90s with peaks of 110-115.
Tsl- you hit the nail on the head, I have been trying to use the big ring lately. I have gotten my cadence to 78-80 rpm on this big ring on the flats. I will try to send it back to the middle ring and target 90 rpm from there.
The other issues is that is am riding a 57 cm Peugeot when conventional wisdom says I should be on a 54 cm frame. However due to some belly fat, I am not comfortable on my 54cm Trek 520 as I feel I am bent over too much. The Peugeot has trekking butterfly type handle bars and with the seat down all the way, I feel comfortable on the bike. I did check the heel test mentioned on an earlier post and true to form....the seat was too low on the Peugeot, so I raised it about a half inch and tilted the butterfly bars so I would not get stretched out. Long term solution is to get both my Peugeot and Trek to my LBS for a fitting. The Trek has drop down bars and if I raise the seat on that, I will really be bent over. My cycling interest is in the touring style and not the racing style. So up and comfortable is where I want to be. Lack of hills in my area is what prompted the third ring experiment
Thanks for everyone's help