Actually, I believe I had the more precise definition of pitch angle. First, because of the curvature of the Earth, at high flight levels the visual horizon falls below your horizontal reference plane. Second, longitudinal axis is the roll axis and is very often closely aligned with the nose and tail (or center of mass) while wings are usually mounted with a slightly positive chord. But to give an extreme example, the F-8 Crusader had a variable angle of attack wing to allow for high speed flight and increased the AOA for more lift on landing and take off. The chord line and the longitudinal axis are two very different values. I don’t think we could argue that the wing set the pitch angle not the fuselage.
Thank you for clearing up my confusion on the AOA hold on PA mode. Your explanation makes more sense than the articles I was reading earlier.
Sorry for the text wall. A few glasses of wine and I get talkative.