Freestyle stroke question

Hey folk, I've heard different viewpoints about my freestyle, and I wonder if I could hear from you on these various opinions: 1. Previous masters' coach: focus on high elbows, fingertips in first. (I hope I'm interpreting him right.) 2. Same coach: kick from hips, not knees (hard one... my kickboard sets are not pretty!)... 3. Swim instructor who happened to observe me one day: too much splash on kick (maybe related to #2) 4. Guy who swims pretty fast and efficiently in nearby lane: "You have a strong kick, but you don't reach far enough. Your hand goes into the water too soon." Tried more of a reach, and it did seem to help my time a little... read: VERY slow to merely "very slow" (sans caps). ;) 5. Current masters' coach: "If you've been swimming a certain way for a while, it actually could slow you down to mess with your stroke too much." And... can a person who is still in pursuit of a sub two minute 100 have any hope of becoming not "very slow" but merely "slow" or even "halfway approaching fast"? I'm 55 and a regular runner as well as swimmer, so reasonably fit (resting heart rate of 31 measured a couple of days ago). Thanks for your comments!