Thank you for your interesting questions.

1. I think that one point answers the other. Asking for forgiveness is essential to the process of forgiveness. Conversely, a sinner who does not ask for forgiveness indicates that he is not really sorry for what he did, in which case forgiving him for his sin would be meaningless. In any event, Yosef's behavior towards his brothers from the moment they arrived in Egypt is clear proof that not only did he bear them no grudge and harbor them no ill-feelings, but that his title "Tzadik" remained intact. If anything, it was enhanced.

2. Burying Yosef in Shechem, from where they stole him, was like returning a stolen article to its owner. It has nothing to do with the next stage of asking for forgiveness. (Besides, they were merely fulfilling the oath that their ancestors had made to Yosef. They should have gone to Yosef's grave, accompanied by ten men, and asked for Mechilah, as the Halachah requires, but they did not do so.)

3. The commentaries are divided as to whether Yakov Avinu knew about the sale of Yosef or not. There are indications that he did (see for example, Rashi to Vayechi 49:9), but there is no conclusive evidence. Therefore, some say that he knew, and others say that he did not. In fact, some commentaries maintain that Yosef deliberately kept his distance from his father in Egypt, for fear that his father would ask him for details of his experiences, which would have forced him to speak ill about his brothers.

Kol Tuv,

Eliezer Chrysler