Welcome to the forum, and welcome back to BIAB. I think we need to hone down what you want to do a little bit more, but in the meantime, here are a few comments:

When you make the adjustment Noel suggests, to keep the track names the original names, you will find that in many ways it operates the same as what you are used to. Also, in BIAB 2017, the interface was changed. Use Ctrl+T to switch back and forth from the new to the old. The old will look more familiar.

As before, melodies you enter should normally be only on the Melody or the Soloist track. Unless you freeze the track, any other instrument will be overwritten.

There is a function called Step Edit the melody. Write back if you want to know more. However, it applies to changing an existing melody, and I think you are asking more about entering one.

One useful trick, also unchanged from what you knew before, is to key in the rhythm of the melody using one key, then in the Editable Notation screen, adjusting the pitch by dragging the note up or down. Very useful for difficult rhythms.

BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.