Heat control for newbie?

If you used a starter cube, that's what got your egg up to temp. Then when you shut the vents it never had a chance to light he lump. I bet all the smoke was the cube smoldering
You should stabilize your temps for a while before adding food
And lastly, wait for clearish (non chemically) smoke
Sure others will reply

Welcome! Here's the way I do it for a lo n slo cook like butts or ribs...

First, make sure your dome temp gauge is calibrated. Stick the probe in boiling water to see if it reads 212° (adjusted for altitude if you like). If it does not, turn the nut on the back until it does.

Fill with lump and whatever smoking wood you are using. Light the lump in 2-3 places, don't put the DFMT (the cast iron top vent) on yet. Open the bottom all the way. Add whatever accessories you're going to use (Platesetter, drip pan, grid, etc.). Close the dome after five minutes or so.

Pay attention. Don't take any phone calls or stop to chat with a neighbor. Temp can get away from you and it can take forever to bring it back down.

When it gets to about 230° or so, put the DFMT on so that the pivot screw is facing the dome handle and the petals are open about 1/16-1/8" and close the bottom to about 1/8". Let it come up to 250°, the most often recommended temp for these types of cooks.

That should get you close and with some minor tweaking once you're in the neighborhood, you'll be good to go.

Let it sit there at 250° for 45 minutes or so before you add the food. Don't let it get away from you. This does two things; it assures that your temp is stable and it also gets you a clean burning fire with none of that acrid smelling smoke.

Add the meat. The temp will drop, but don't touch anything as it will come back up by itself.

Hope this helps. It works for me.

Don't worry about wasting lump. When doing a lo n slo cook, you do not want to run out. Fill the firebox to the top (some do that for every cook). For a 250° cook, that should last you for 30+ hours, though that can vary by brand. My longest has been about 20 hrs and I had about half of the lump left over. When you're finished with the cook, close the bottom vent and replace the DFMT with the ceramic cap. That will snuff out the fire and you will be able to use the remaining lump for your next cook.

WARNING... When you close it up like that, DO NOT reopen after a couple of minutes because you forgot something. If you need to reopen, first, remove the top cap and open the lower vent. If you don't, you will not like the fireball that can come out of the egg. Your eyebrows will be a fond memory.

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I agree. That's exactly right. Just how I do it. One suggestion to Newbie, I use an electric starter that works fantastic. I'm just not wild about those fire sticks. I think they have to have chemicals in them. I know it burns off, but.....