Even though this topic might have been giving people a sense of dejavu, I'm glad you asked the question again. I'm a new quilting fan too and have the same problems and boy is it upsetting when you have tried to be so careful with your cutting, piecing and sewing...and you end up with puckers! It can make you want to cry. I'm in the pinning stage on a quilt I'm working on now and came to the board to find out the same things you asked about.
Do you use a walking foot on your sewing machine? Because that does help the layers pass through more evenly. Thinner batting and longer stitches are easier than thick batting a tight stitches.
I've read through a lot of other threads, looking for answers. The spray / pin debate seems to have pros and cons for both sides. I guess we just have to try each technique on a test piece and see which we like best.
Starching seems like a huge help and has many enthusiastic practitioners on the topic. I'll have to try it on my next quilt!
But anyway, thanks for putting your questions out there!