mleejr
1) How do I just COPY a track so, for some stupid reason, I can just edit the new track without screwing up the original?
I keep coming back to this sentence.
For what you are trying to do, I think "Save As" is your friend. Go ahead and make your edits on the original track(s), but save the
project as a new version. This way, you project is not cluttered with extra tracks ( a big consideration in MC since you have a limited number of tracks), and you still preserve the original if you want to back up.
It is not unusual to have ten or more versions of a project as you work through it. All of your settings will carry forward, and you always have the earlier versions intact, if you decide you like what you did yesterday better than what you did tonight.
It's not unheard of to totally botch a project. I'm sure we've all done it. I know I have.
Anyhow, try doing it this way. It's a very clean approach to where I believe you are trying to get to.