Try turning snap settings off when drawing.
 
Hard to say why you are having trouble with copy and paste.
 
A take lane can be added in the Track view by expanding the take lanes (the blue button circled in red in A below from http://www.cakewalk.com/D...nging.31.html#1776695) for a track and clicking the + in the bottom left-hand corner of a take lane.
 
The timeline in the track view and PRV are independent.

I haven't done it in a while but I don't think that even a non-hand inserted pitch wheel will dump an obscene number of points into an envelope.   Obviously if you use 3 in a measure it will be noticeable..... but 32 should be more than enough to get a smooth transition  over that space and time.
 
Can't answer the last 2 questions..... I don't use or have them.

Okay -- the copy/paste issue I'm referring to. It just won't copy and paste.
 
In the PRV view, I drag the mouse over a selection of notes. CTRL-C. Click the destination...CTRL-V. Doesn't work.
 
It's a simple copy and paste. Am I missing something? I've been told copy/paste is quite finicky at times. Why doesn't it work sometimes?

probably so..... you need to have someone answer that who uses the PRV and knows.
 
Janet helped me answer a question I had about PRV since she uses it almost exclusively in here midi work.

Hi Grundberg.  Herb told me you could use some help.  Actually, I'm not sure why the simply copy and paste isn't working for you.  Are you sure it's pasting into the correct track?  I think the finicky part would be it not putting exactly where you want it, and that's probably a quantize issue or something.  I'm sorry I don't have any more answers now.  Herb, maybe Reece could help?  
 
But it gives me the shivers seeing all your questions, cause that's exactly where I was about 6 years ago...this stuff was like rocket science to me!  :\  The guys on this forum are the only reason I ever got anything recorded!  I'm still no pro, but that's because of my own limitations.  I also would second the idea to check on youtube.  There might be some great tutorials there too.  

Reece has been extremely busy with work. They have him commuting between DFW & Seattle.

A comment to a part of #6:
The volume in the VST UI and the track volume don't always lead to same result. 
Synths and FX may actually change their sound when you increase the internal volume. They may have input and output level separately adjustable, which at first may look like just a volume setting, but the relative settings have huge effect on the sound. The track volume just makes the VST louder without changing it's internal settings.
 
The same goes with MIDI note velocity and volume. Velocity defines which velocity layer of a sample is played, but volume sets the output level. Like when you hit a VST snare very gently (low velocity layer), no matter how loud you play it, it doesn't sound like a snare that's hit hard.

Kalle Rantaaho
A comment to a part of #6:
The volume in the VST UI and the track volume don't always lead to same result. 
Synths and FX may actually change their sound when you increase the internal volume. They may have input and output level separately adjustable, which at first may look like just a volume setting, but the relative settings have huge effect on the sound. The track volume just makes the VST louder without changing it's internal settings.
 
The same goes with MIDI note velocity and volume. Velocity defines which velocity layer of a sample is played, but volume sets the output level. Like when you hit a VST snare very gently (low velocity layer), no matter how loud you play it, it doesn't sound like a snare that's hit hard.

That's very informative, but I'm afraid it makes composition a little more difficult. So, let's say I'm trying to adjust the volume of an instrument track, am I better off doing it from the inline track adjustments (+/-) or through the Inspector? I just want to adjust the volume, nothing special.

I always use volume envelopes in the tracks for pure volume changes.
 
Adjusting the levels in the synth can at times affect the sound's timbre.
 
Generally, I find that I leave the tracks at a specific level..... depending on what I need. Sometimes they are 100% out of the mix. I rarely let something just play..... (with exceptions like acoustic guitar, piano, bass & drums) at the same level all the way through..... in my music you will notice things coming and going throughout the song. Fills, solo's parts to increase the energy and feel are all enveloped in and out as needed.
 
see this example..... notice everything is surgical in nature. precise edits.... no multi-node movements.
Track 10 B3 is low but the same level
Track 11 Piano is all the way down.
12&13 are playing the fills by edits.
 
The song: http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=11971116    and you are looking at the first verse of the song, and the edits are the piano fills you hear.
 

Grundberg

Kalle Rantaaho
A comment to a part of #6:
The volume in the VST UI and the track volume don't always lead to same result. 
Synths and FX may actually change their sound when you increase the internal volume. They may have input and output level separately adjustable, which at first may look like just a volume setting, but the relative settings have huge effect on the sound. The track volume just makes the VST louder without changing it's internal settings.
 
The same goes with MIDI note velocity and volume. Velocity defines which velocity layer of a sample is played, but volume sets the output level. Like when you hit a VST snare very gently (low velocity layer), no matter how loud you play it, it doesn't sound like a snare that's hit hard.

That's very informative, but I'm afraid it makes composition a little more difficult. So, let's say I'm trying to adjust the volume of an instrument track, am I better off doing it from the inline track adjustments (+/-) or through the Inspector? I just want to adjust the volume, nothing special.

 
It doesn't make anything one bit more difficult. The track header volume and the inspector  volume are just the same, and if MC has a console view, that is also the same. It's only the VSTs user interface that is (often) a different thing.