How can I eliminate the smell of gas and smoke when burning my new gas fireplace?
This does NOT sound at all like a normal situation. Either your gas fireplace has a serious flaw or the unit is vented incorrectly. I would stop lighting it and immediately get a professional in to look at it. At the same time you should use every avenue at your disposal to get the builder, contractor, and gas fireplace installer on the hook to look at this unit and replace it if necessary with a properly functioning and correctly installed unit.