SentenceDoing

I seem to have a cold, but the thing is that my throat has been sore for seven days now. I started off on Friday with a sore throat behind my nose, where it's all swollen and stuff back there, and VERY painful to swallow or talk(ugh, I hate that). Within two days, the pain had moved down to my lower throat, so that it got all irritated- burning and tickling when I breathe. It's been like that now since Sunday, plus, I developed a dry cough that only produces mucous in the morning. Last night, I noticed that low in my throat, it feels swollen and sore like a bruise if I try to clear my throat. This is low in my throat, below my voice box. This actually made it difficult to fall asleep last night because it was so bothersome. Is this still my "throat" or more my windpipe?
I keep waking up in the mornings before my alarm is supposed to go off with a coughing fit because I get a severe tickle in my throat that feels like a dry spot.
I've also had sinus drainage for a couple of days.
Usually, when I have a sore throat, it goes away in a couple of days, and is just a little uncomfortable until the cold plays out. But right now, I'm still having that scratchy, tickling, swollen feeling in my throat... is this just a cold, or something else?
I know it's not strep throat or anything, because I usually get a high fever with that, and I don't have a fever. I also don't always get a sore throat with strep throat, either.

Any ideas?

Thanks!