Can someone give me some advice on what to do?
Pretty much all I've been doing is planting fruit, digging fossils, catching bugs, fishing, shaking trees for money, and I went to the island once.
I got a complaint about the town not developing quick enough...how do I do that?
What is the benefit of writing to people who live in town? Should I say anything specific in the letters to them?
Raises their friendship level a little. Not necessary at all except for the beginning of the game where you are trying to get 100% satisfaction. Don't have to say anything specific.
Gardening...what should I do about that. I can buy seeds and have a watering can...should I?
Yes. You should water your flowers daily unless you have the Beautiful Town Ordinance (which you can get by having 100% satisfaction rating). You can buy seeds if you want, might help getting that 100%, otherwise it's just a preference.
I got an axe....it's obviously for cutting down trees...but why would I do that? Other then maybe wanting to use that space for design purposes.
Design and with some of the axes you can get special stumps that can generate items.
Wetsuit...where do I get one? I used it on the island but haven't been able to buy one to use in my town yet.
Must buy in the island store.
Whats the point of the island tours? (haven't done any yet)
Get medals to buy stuff on the island, including the wetsuit.
Getting stung by bees...does it matter? Is there any negative effect of being stung other then your face being swollen?
Nope doesn't matter.
Is there a way to carry more things? Can I get a bigger bag?
Nope. But once you get access to floor 2 of the museum later on you can store more stuff there. I assume you've already discovered cabinet drawers and the lockers at the station.
Not like I don't enjoy messing around in animal crossing...but is there any real purpose of this game? lol
No real end goal. You get what you put in
Sorry for all the questions. Animal Crossing is all new to me.