How to move a sprite at a certain angle with a joystick - cocos2d-iphone

Question

Hi I have finally made a working joystick in cocos2d. I am able to rotate a sprite to the exact angle that the joystick thumb, or cap, is 'pointing'. However, I am unable to move the sprite in that same direction. Is there an easy way to move the sprite with the way I have the rotating code set up? Also is there a way to keep it moving if your thumb is still pressed, but not moving the joystick?. PS this code is all within the TouchesMoved method. PPS. the cap is the thumb, the pad is the joystick background, and the Sprite2 is the sprite that I want to move. (95, 95) is the center of the pad sprite.
if(capSprite.position.x>=padSprite.position.x){
id a3 = [CCFlipX actionWithFlipX:NO];
[sprite2 runAction:a3];
}
if(capSprite.position.x<=padSprite.position.x){
id a4 = [CCFlipX actionWithFlipX:YES];
[sprite2 runAction:a4];
}
CGPoint pos1 = ccp(95, 95);
CGPoint pos2 = ccp(capSprite.position.x, capSprite.position.y);
int offX = pos2.x-pos1.x;
int offY = pos2.y-pos1.y;
float angleRadians = atanf((float)offY/(float)offX);
float angleDegrees = CC_RADIANS_TO_DEGREES(angleRadians);
float theAngle = -1 * angleDegrees;
sprite2.rotation = theAngle;

Answer 1

I'm not familiar with cocos2d but I had a quick look at the documentation and this sample might be of use to you:
if keys[key.UP]:
self.target.acceleration = (200 * rotation_x, 200 * rotation_y)
I had written a long explanation answering your second question but I believe this "self.target.acceleration" solves that too. You can read more at the cocos2d API documentation.

Answer 2

What I generally do is get the angle, convert it to a CGPoint with ccpForAngle(float) and then multiply the CGPoint by a value:
float angle = whatever;
CGPoint anglePoint = ccpForAngle(angle);
// You will need to play with the mult value
angle = ccpMult(angle, 2.5);
// This also works with box2D or probably Chipmunk.
sprite.position = angle;