I don't say you need the help to be obnoxious but because its a huge jump for you from Sonar 7 to X2. Nothing you are used to is the same. Just about everything has either been moved or requires a different way to access it.
I use hardware synths. 3 of them and have seen no problem with the patches. Keep in mind that one of those synths is an XV 5080 with custom patches as well as add on cards. All of those patches show up in X2 just fine. As do all the other synths.
What I need to know from you is that you are looking in the right place for seeing the patch list which can found in the track inspector.
If you are trying to insert a patch change via the Event List you need to first hit the top + sign to insert a new line. It will be the duplicate of the you are at. All you need to do is change the event type to patch change and then you will be able to see a patch listing.
This part has not changed much through the years.