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I am capable of some good writing on the microlevel, that is, I can build character and setting.  My problem is taking the parts and making them fit into an actual story that is interesting.

You'll probably receive a wide range of English teacher answers for this one, but personally speaking, the first step I would advise is finding a prewriting method that works best for you.

Outlining is one positive way to organize your writing thoughts, while clustering or webbing is a technique used mostly by writers who are more visual, mentally speaking. Another technique you may wish to try is freewriting. This will allow you to get words on paper, and then later you can worry about structure and organization.

Any of the above techniques serve as good starting points. You may wish to try several, and see which one works best for you. Graphic organizers are also handy for this task.

Another valuable technique that many professional writers use is to carry around a small notebook and jot down interesting things that happen, that they see, that someone says, etc.  Reviewing this can often spark ideas.

Personally, I find that I get ideas most often when I just sit down to write for 45 minutes or so.  Often at the start I can't think of anything!  However, if I just start writing about how I can't think of anything, before you know it I'm onto something.

Finally, I have sometimes gotten ideas from my dreams.  However, I find it frustrating to try to capture too much from dreams -- I can never seem to recreate the whole story.