How are cell-phones tracked with GPS?

Does my provider permanently track where the phone is using GPS, even if the police are not after me? Is this data stored? If I sent a text, would the provider store the exact GPS data the text was sent from or just the tower?
Cell phones use the GPS system, which is a radio-navigation system formed from a group of satellites and ground stations [1]. GPS trackers use the Global Navigation Satellite System network to give location information and track movements [1]. They receive satellite and microwave signals and use calculations to determine a location and track speed and movement [1]. This means you can find out where an object with a GPS tracker is currently, how fast it’s moving, and where it’s been [1]. Most cell phones come with their own GPS tracking system that can narrow a location to within a small area and help find a phone if it’s lost [2]. Cell phones with GPS receivers communicate with units from among the 30 global positioning satellites in the GPS system [3]. The built-in receiver trilaterates your position using data from at least three GPS satellites and the receiver [3]. GPS can determine your location by performing a calculation based on the intersection point of overlapping spheres determined by the satellites and your phone's GPS receiver [3].
There are two main ways cell phones can be tracked. The first is based on power levels and antenna patterns [2]. Mobile phones are always communicating with the closest base station, so by knowing the location of the base station, it's possible to determine the phone's location [2]. A second method uses the fact that each cell phone tower has three sectors that cover 360 degrees, and when a cell phone attaches to a particular tower, the records will indicate which sector it pinged [3][4]. Interpolating signals between adjacent antenna towers can determine the sector in which the phone is located and roughly estimate the distance to the base station [2]. As the phone moves around and uses the phone for different purposes, it's creating a record of its usage and location, which is captured in a "Call Detail Record" [4]. This record can be obtained by subpoena [4]. Moreover, as the phone attaches and reattaches to different cell towers, it's possible to see in which direction the phone is traveling [3][4].