did u do this exact command?
/gamerule keepinventory true
skeletons DONT convert to strays
well whenever you type any letters instead of numbers in the seed box it automatically changes to a number but honestly i dont understand how you ended up in a desert in the middle of nowhere first nether portal in a minecraft world will sync 100% of the time but overall i dont know im no expert
the crafting book doesnt show all ways to make the same item rather it shows the one that produces the most the only exception i can think of is bamboo to sticks if it helps, you need to smelt 4 ancient debris in a furnace or blast furnace then get 4 gold ingots and put the smelted debris with the gold and place them all in any assortment in a crafting table