about to brew #2... questions about first time

I'm using the Brewer's Best kit and I have a few questions before starting my second batch...

When pouring the wort into the fermenter, the directions say to keep some sediment out. About half-way through I just used a strainer to keep most of it out. Is it good or bad to have the brewing sediment in the fermenter? Should I just use a strainer the whole time when pouring?

With #1, the part that really didn't work out was the siphoning. I was trying to use the bottling wand to move the beer to the bottling bucket. After an hour, I barely moved 1 gallon. I was frustrated and just tried to pour it in the bottling bucket and straining the sediment with a sanitized cloth (which didn't work either). The next day I realized not to use the bottling wand, this worked. The real problem I found was that the beer had no carbonation after 2 weeks in the bottle. Why did this happen?
• I let the priming sugar sit in the fermenter overnight?
• I poured some of the beer through a sanitized cloth?
• Not enough sediment in the fermenting bucket?
• Bubbling stopped after 4 days... didn't bottle until day 7?

Needless to say I'm drinking my flat beer by myself. At least it tastes like pale ale, watered down, but pale ale. Not discouraged, just learning. Next up is the Amber Cerveza Style (XX).

Trub in the fermenter doesn't hurt anything; don't worry about it. Some people just put the entire cooled contents of the boil kettle into the fermenter. It makes it easier to get the beer out of the fermenter without as much sediment later, however, if you try to keep it out of the primary. Not a big deal at all though.

With your first batch, your yeast probably fermented out a good portion of the priming sugar.

Don't put the priming sugar into the fermenter at all. Boil it in a couple cups of water for 10 minutes, pour it into the bottling bucket, then siphon your beer from the fermenter into the bottling bucket on top of the priming sugar solution. Try to keep from splashing the beer around at this point to avoid oxidation. Then bottle it right then.

How long has the beer been in the bottle?

Thanks for the help Rick... everything makes sense. Beer was in bottles (at room temp) for 2 weeks. Now has been in the fridge for 1 week.

No problem. I'd take that flat beer out of the fridge and leave it at room temperature for another week, then if it's still flat, you can open the bottles and put a carb drop in each one, recap and leave it for another week at room temperature.

I saw carbonation tablets at the local brew supply and thought of doing that... I'll let you know how it goes. I'm ready to try again though!