@AccessibleGameBase:
Did you even look over the options in the menu or even the LFS wiki page? If you did you would find all of what you suggested can be changed to suit specific needs.
Also you had to click a button to make it work? No you had to select first before you go anywhere even with automatic.
And again yes when you crash your gears will stay in whatever gear you selected untill you either let go of the throttle or manually change down gears yourself.