I’m not sure I understand the problem you have…
Can you share a screen grab, and elaborate on the problem.
The transform gizmos are probably disabled.

I can’t say why your text won’t convert to a mesh.
To convert text to a mesh,
Make sure the text only is selected, then go to Object > Convert > Mesh.
Note: you won’t actually see any change, until you tab into edit mode where you will see the editable mesh.
