Rather then get into specifics it's vital to know your equipment.

As I understand it the Traeger has three heat settings. For smoking you
want to use the lowest which should produce a temp of 175 to 200.

I suggest you pick up a copy of the "Smoke and Spice Cookbook". It's a
goldmine of information on "low and slow" cooking.

You should make every effort to get the door to the smoker chamber to seal
tight. The circulation from the firebox to the stack will be disrupted by
any leaks.

Grilling steaks/hamburgers etc is a very different exercise from
baking/smoking. The Trager is not a grill so food which should be cooked
over high heat with good air circulation will not cook properly in your
smoker.

I have a small TEC I use for grilling (it's about the hottest grill around)
and a HastyBake (to be replaced by a Kamado) for baking and smoking.

Remember practice makes perfect the Traeger can produce wonderful barbacue.

Richard Smith