I know I can switch to the  draw freehand tool instead  of the smart tool, but then I'd lose the ability to quickly change velocities and note start/durations.

Just looking for some way to set the "play from" point without it changing on me if I add a note by double clicking with the smart tool.

with the smart tool you can add notes with a single click by holding down the alt-key :)

Yay!

Was driving me up the walls having to hit return to zero every time I added a note.

Tack så mycket 

Haha!
It drove me insane too until i discovered this feature :)

Det var så lidt så