What kind of tree is it? If it has bluey-green stiff and very short little bunches of needles (vs flat leaves), it's likely to be a Juniper procumbens nana and therefore belongs outdoors only. If it's covered with a layer of glued on stones, pry it off and discard, along with any moss that's on top. Never water anything on schedule, but learn when it's needed - i.e. if some of the soil has dried between waterings (how much depends on various factors, but with a juniper - especially one not yet planted in fast draining mostly grit (vs potting soil full of water-holding peat), 1/3 of the mix or more can be dry - better than having too much of it wet. You should repot, but don't trim roots. A larger pot with more grit than 'soil' is needed, not necessarily a bonsai pot at this stage. And mulch around the pot and on top (in a larger container with its own drainage) for winter. Once it's in proper soil, then you can water more often as it'll drain away quickly and not rot roots, but once the soil freezes hard in winter, don't water at all. Your 'extremely helpful' seller was a salesman, not a bonsai expert - and as you said, you knew better, but chose to ignore that, so if he told you to water by immersion instead of from above, ignore that too. IF your tree has leaves, however, it could be one of hundreds, and a picture here would help to identify it and decide how to care for it.

It is impossible to even guess what kind of tree you have unless you can post a picture of it. Did you get any info from the seller regarding care? Do you know if it was kept outside prior to purchase? If it was, it should be safe to move it outside now, protected from winds. But if your climate will get much colder than it is now, find a place to shelter it (like a shed or unheated garage) and mulch it as Lucy describes.

If it is a tropical, don't take it outside.

If it has the glued-rocks remove those - but I would not repot it just yet, and leave those roots alone. Allow it time to settle in to its new environment, and make sure it is healthy. Many trees suffer from stress when moved around, and it could likely suffer irreparable damage if it is subjected to additional stresses. There will be plenty of time for that in the spring.

As far as soil is concerned, how gritty is it? Unless it is mostly potting mix I wouldn't worry too much about that either at this point. A fast draining mix is needed, but there is some room for adjustment - if you water it thoroughly, and it is still very damp after 2-3 days, then consider changing half the soil now and a complete change to a good acadama mix in the spring. If it is fairly dry after 2-3 days there is no hurry to change anything. Just water it thoroughly when it begins to dry.
This is a method I use to determine how absorbent the soil is. Get yourself a water bottle ( like the type cyclist use, or the smaller 12-16oz purchased-water type with the little push closed lid. Fill the bottle with approx 8oz (half full?)- use this to water (gently at first so as to not disturb the soil/rocks too much ) and use all of the water - if it begins to drain freely from the bottom of the pot by the time half the water is used, it should not pose a danger of root rot - provided you carefully monitor moisture conditions before watering again.

In order to be of any real assistance much more info is needed. A pic is worth a thousand words. ;)

So sorry...it is a juniper...working on pic

I have since moved it to my back porch...it is covered and screened in...I figured it is still in the elements, getting direct sunlight, and not affected by the wind.
I am going to put it in a larger pot until spring, heeding the soil advice and not touching the roots.

The person I bought it from was helpful but there was a language issue to deal with. I didn't feel duped after the sale...you can tell he cared about his plants and spent plenty of time helping me. He said he kept all of his plants in a green house, he probably had a couple hundred plants with him, they ranged from 3 to 35 yrs.

It has mulch for the topsoil and no glued on rocks.

I have been watering from the top but not misting with a squirt bottle due to things I have read on various sites.

The trees foliage is essentially browning at the base of the stems.

I hope this info helped more. I will not be able to post a pic right now so if you guys need anymore info please let me know. This tree is beautiful and I do not want to ruin it.

FYI---I have had it for about a week now, have kept it inside except for 4-6 hours daily where it was outside in direct sunlight. As stated earlier since this post I have moved it outside on my porch. Temp right now is about 40 and our winter seems to be fairly mild but occassionally we will have a week or two at freezing or slightly below

Sink the pot into a quite large one full of mulch to protect the roots (and the pot - unfortunately a lot crack in the cold, but at least you're not way up north) as if it were in the ground.

Thanks Lucy...Does it sound like I am on the right track now? I have taken your potting advice

Sounds like you're doing great. One tip - if you know it's supposed to go below freezing on any given day or night (before the ground has otherwise frozen), do be sure to water beforehand - freeze drying is not recommended!