Can I take a short tour of Amsterdam's main attractions from the airport while in route?

We would like to spend a few hours touring before resuming our trip. We will have about 5 hours to spend.

Definitely. The train from the airport to Centraal station is about 20 min and 2.50 euro (I think). I believe you can also check bags into a locker at the airport. From Centraal you can walk around and see many of the sights in 2-3 hours.

If you are on a connecting flight and you baggage is checked through, you won't need to worry about it as the airline will deal with that (but make sure it's checked through when you 1st check in @ departure). There's a travel desk in AMS that can book you a tour into the city if you have more than four hours.