[quote name='jer7583']I realize that I'm never going to get above "knows the moves" for SF4, so I'm just having fun with it. Not trying to be the best around.[/QUOTE]
Watch videos on youtube of good players and see what they do. Read about moves for your mains on forums like SRK. Play a lot with human opponents to get a feel for your character. Learn the match ups, so you know what to do against certain characters.
I played and watched some of the best players on XBL, and they are all about footsies, countering, crossovers and simple combos. The matches seem too simple and they look like scrubs when you watch them, but in reality they know exactly what they are doing.
You should experiment with other characters to get a feel for them and see what kind of play style you like. I started from cammy, ryu, sagat, honda, rose, blanka and then came back to honda. You always want to know maybe 2-3 characters very well in case you get a bad match up. I been playing honda for 1/2 year probably and I still can't piano fast enough for cr.jab>f.HHS. 600+ hours later and I'm hyped for the 27th. I'm going to 24-hour wal-mart at midnight.