How does everything work, select, move, Yeah RIGHT! Nothing seems to work intuitively.
It fits my intuitions. Your three problems are "the movie's broken", "it doesn't like my preferred resolution", and "because I'm already angry and prepared to despise this game, I may as well pretend that the UI is terribly confusing - right before I admit that I'm getting a handle on it."
The first two aren't a big deal, the third you could solve with a fresh look or by asking someone here or with the in-game IRC.
The fixed isometric view absolutely stinks!
Drag with the middle-mouse button.
The ability to pan the screen gets worse and worse.
Left-click and drag. Or, better yet: don't pan - this isn't an RTS. Use strategic zoom to get around.