Are you talking about project tasks and scheduling those for the project?
If so we have also found that it is very rigid and cumbersome
If I remember right there were really only 2 options
1. As soon as possible (will set start date to start date of project OR end date of predecessors). This will only allow you to set a start date and the end date is calculated by the hours on the task
2. Fixed Start (define your own start date)
. Again end date is defined by hours set on the task
What questions do you have specifically?