The problems you describe are a sign that you still haven't learned LaTeX. I never claimed there isn't a steep learning curve. But these problems haven't to do

The problems you describe are a sign that you still haven't learned LaTeX. I never claimed there isn't a steep learning curve. But these problems haven't to do with the appearance of your document. Also you seem to miss the point of LaTeX. Of course you care how your documents look, this is one of the main reasons to use it. But you are smart enough to know that there are two parts in creating a document. The first is the content, this is your part, this is where your expertise lies. So you write and give some general instructions about the structure of your writings. The second part is the typesetting and this is LaTeX's work. A common pitfall is trying to use LaTeX as MS Word.