A PLT IN C152 VFR NEAR PHD INADVERTENTLY ENCOUNTERS IMC AND HAS DIFFICULTY OBTAINING ASSISTANCE FROM ATC.

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I WAS FLYING W; AT 3000 FT MSL; FROM AGC TO PHD; WITH AN ACTIVE VFR FLT PLAN AND FLT FOLLOWING -- FIRST FROM PIT AND THEN FROM AKRON-CANTON. WX OBTAINED FROM INTERNET SOURCE PRIOR TO FLT RPTED/FORECAST INCREASING CEILINGS AND LESSENING WINDS. APCHING PHD; CEILINGS BEGAN TO THICKEN AND FORWARD VISIBILITY BEGAN TO DECREASE; HOWEVER SLANT VISIBILITY TO THE GND REMAINED GOOD. APPROX 6 NM FROM PHD; AKRON APCH CANCELED RADAR SVCS. I IMMEDIATELY WENT TO SQUAWK CODE 1200 AND ATTEMPTED TO CONTACT PHD UNICOM ON 122.8 FOR ARPT ADVISORIES. A CHEROKEE ON THE GND RPTED THE ACTIVE RWY AS RWY 32; AND I ANNOUNCED I WOULD ENTER A R UPWIND FOR RWY 32 ONCE I MADE VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE FIELD. SHORTLY THEREAFTER; VISUAL CONDITIONS BELOW CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY -- FIRST A FEW LOW PASSING CLOUDS; AND THEN ZERO VISIBILITY BELOW. 2 ACFT PREPARING TO DEPART RWY 32 WERE ADVISED BY ANOTHER ACFT OF SOME LOW CLOUDS W OF THE ARPT. AT 3 NM E OF PHD; I BEGAN TO EXPERIENCE TOTAL IMMERSION IN IMC. MY ALT WAS BTWN 2500-3000 FT MSL. I IMMEDIATELY INITIATED A 180 DEG TURN FROM A HDG OF 300 DEGS TO 120 DEGS. SIMULTANEOUSLY; I RE-CONTACTED AKRON APCH AND 1) ADVISED THEM OF BEING UNABLE TO LAND AT PHD DUE TO IMC; 2) ASKED THEM TO CLOSE MY ACTIVE VFR FLT PLAN; AND 3) ASKED THEM FOR IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE IN FILING AN IFR FLT PLAN FOR A RETURN TO AGC. I HAD HOPED FOR AN IMMEDIATE SQUAWK CODE AND RADAR SVCS. INSTEAD; AKRON APCH REFERRED ME TO CLEVELAND FSS. I CONTACTED CLEVELAND FSS ON 122.2 AND SPENT SEVERAL MINS ATTEMPTING TO EXPLAIN TO THEM MY CURRENT SIT (IN AND OUT OF IMC) AND THE DETAILS OF MY PROPOSED FLT PLAN. CLEVELAND FSS REPEATED MY PROPOSED FLT PLAN WRONG; HAD DIFFICULTY CAPTURING MY NAME; INSISTED ON A CALCULATED TIME ENRTE TO AGC AND APPEARED TO THINK I WAS ON THE GND AT PHD; WHEN I WAS ACTUALLY IN THE AIR AND IN VARYING CONDITIONS -- NONE OF THEM ESPECIALLY FAVORABLE. EVENTUALLY; CLEVELAND FSS RETURNED ME TO AKRON APCH. UPON RETURNING TO AKRON APCH; I WAS ADVISED THEY DIDN'T HAVE MY FLT PLAN IN THE COMPUTER YET; AND INSTRUCTED ME TO TURN TO A HDG OF 360 DEGS TO AVOID PITTSBURGH CLASS B AIRSPACE. THIS TOOK ME BACK TOWARDS; OR PARALLEL TO THE WX I WAS TRYING TO BEAT. MY RECENT HDG HAD BEEN 120 DEGS; TAKING ME BACK TO THE HLG VOR WHERE I HAD JUST COME FROM AND WHERE CONDITIONS WERE GOOD. AT AN ALT OF 3000 FT MSL; I WOULD HAVE BEEN BELOW PITTSBURGH CLASS B. AFTER SEVERAL MINS; AKRON APCH ADVISED THEY WEREN'T RECEIVING MY XPONDER AND WITHOUT SUCH; THEY WOULD BE UNABLE TO ASSIST ME. I WAS ADVISED TO MAINTAIN VFR -- APPARENTLY THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND I WAS ALREADY IN AND OUT OF IMC THAT WAS WORSENING ON THEIR ASSIGNED HDG OF 360 DEGS. AFTER SEVERAL MORE MOMENTS OF CYCLING THE XPONDER; CHKING CIRCUIT BREAKERS AND RECYCLING THE NUMBERS; AKRON APCH RECEIVED MY SIGNAL AND INSTRUCTED ME TO CLB TO 5000 FT AND HEAD DIRECT HLG. SHORTLY THEREAFTER; AKRON APCH HANDED ME OFF TO PITTSBURGH APCH ON A FREQ I WAS NOT FAMILIAR WITH. UPON CONTACTING PIT APCH; THEY IMMEDIATELY ADVISED ME I WAS ON THE WRONG FREQ AND TO SWITCH TO THE MORE APPROPRIATE FREQ FOR MY ALT; ACFT AND FLT PLAN. PIT APCH GAVE ME A DSCNT TO AN ALT BELOW THE CLOUDS AND I FINISHED MY IFR FLT IN VMC MAKING A VISUAL APCH TO AGC. DISAPPOINTMENTS: VFR INTO IMC IS UNACCEPTABLE. I UNDERSTAND THAT AND WAS SURPRISED HOW QUICKLY THE CONDITIONS CHANGED IN THE LAST FEW MOMENTS. HAD I NOT HAD AN INST RATING; I MIGHT HAVE MORE CRITICALLY EVALUATED THE SLOWLY CHANGING CONDITIONS EARLIER AND ABORTED THE FLT; BUT VISIBILITY TO THE GND WAS ACCEPTABLE AND MY FIRST CONTACT WITH ACFT AT PHD APPEARED FAVORABLE. ONCE IN TROUBLE; I WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED IN THE RESPONSE OF AKRON APCH; AND THE DIFFICULTY I EXPERIENCED WITH CLEVELAND FSS IN FILING A FLT PLAN. I CONTINUALLY RE-EVALUATE MY COM. WAS IT MY FAILURE TO DESCRIBE MY SIT? I DON'T THINK SO. SHORT OF DECLARING AN EMER; I COULDN'T BELIEVE THEY ABANDONED ME TO FSS WITHOUT RADAR OR RADIO CONTACT. THE CONTINUAL QUESTIONING FROM FSS ABOUT MY PROPOSED RTE; HOW TO SPELL MY NAME; AND WHAT VOID TIME I WANTED WAS FRUSTRATING AT A TIME I WAS IN IMMEDIATE NEED OF RADAR SVCS AND DIRECTIONAL GUIDANCE. AND; UPON RETURN TO AKRON APCH; BEING TOLD TO MAINTAIN VFR (WHICH IS HARD TO DO WHEN YOU ARE ALREADY IN IMC) WAS NOT OF ANY HELP IN MY CURRENT SIT. I WISH I COULD REVIEW THE TAPED XMISSIONS WITH THE ATC CTLRS IN AN ATTEMPT TO ASSIST ME (AND THEM) IN UNDERSTANDING WHERE THE CONFUSION OCCURRED AND HOW TO IMPROVE OUR COMS IN THE FUTURE. PERHAPS MY RADIO XMISSION SIGNAL WAS POOR? PERHAPS I SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE ASSERTIVE AND REFUSED TO SWITCH TO CLEVELAND FSS AND SIMPLY DEMANDED AN IMMEDIATE SQUAWK CODE AND RADAR SVCS. IT SEEMS THAT IF THIS WERE TO HAPPEN AGAIN TO ME OR ANYONE ELSE; THE PROCESS OF GETTING RADAR SVCS AND AN APPROVED FLT PLAN SHOULD BE EXPEDITED. MY FIRST EXPERIENCE IN ACTUAL SINGLE PLT IFR WAS TOLERABLE; BUT I CAN MORE CLRLY THAN EVER SEE HOW A VFR PLT WITHOUT INST TRAINING COULD EASILY AUGER IN FROM THE COMBINED CONFUSION OF THE ACFT ENVIRONMENT AND THE ADDED PRESSURE FROM THE CLUMSINESS OF THE ATC/FSS ENVIRONMENT IN THIS SIT.