Hello
You'll get better advice than mine, but you asked and I've enjoyed your posts, so for what it's worth (Which is about what you're paying for it)

I'd say a cadence of about 80 is fine for someone who says he's new. I'd say the issues to think about are, firstly, are you pedalling all round the circle, and second, do your gears allow you to shift easily to keep in your comfortable +/-80?

Roundy round, not up and down. Lots of cyclists bike like they hike - alternate downward pressure. Consciously try to rotate, emphasise the forwards and backwards pressure, not only the up and down. A number of mental images to help, particularly the 'scrape something off your shoe between 4 and 8 o'clock' of the rotation. Toe clips help with this. They also help to lift the upcoming foot - not to try to put upward pressure, but certainly to minimise the extra effort of lifting 40 lbs of hambone on the upcoming leg

Gears - I'd not completely agree with the advice to keep the back cogs constant and make big shifts on the front. In fact, I'd say the opposite. On a triple, I'd advise riding mainly on the middle, make small and quick adjustments on the back cassette, save the big and small ring for the fastest or slowest parts of the ride (bombing or bailing)

The main thing is - you'll find your comfy pace the more you do! Enjoy