The guy at your hobby shop likely has the Pulse confused with something else. It isn't a 3D plane at all. The Rambler 45 that he mentioned is an outstanding airplane. You could use it to step up from a trainer but keep in mind it can be fairly fast and has retractable landing gear to deal with.

Looks like you have a ton of good suggestions here. I hate deciding on a new plane; there are just too many nice ones out there.