silverhead

After a firmware update it is normal for all presets to be rebuilt. It is also normal for any newly loaded presets that were created in older firmware to be rebuilt on the first startup after they were imported. What you described is normal except, of course, for missing cabs. That is highly unusual - virtually impossible in fact. What it possible is that you use IRs rather than stock cabs, and it is quite possible that those are missing, depending on what steps you actually took after the update. For instance, if you performed a factory reset after updating, as recommended, your previously installed IRs were deleted. If you did not restore them from the backup file then, yes, they are missing. My advice is to perform a factory reset again and then restore almost all items from the system backup file that was created during the update. In particular, restore the IRs. The items you don’t want to restore are the latest factory presets (setlists #1, 2, and 8).

If you want to be thorough you can download the Helix Cheat Sheet to a mobile device and learn the operational basics. Then you can prepare a test plan for yourself to systematically test all knobs and switches. That will let you run through the plan when you test the device, knowing in advance what you should expect the knobs and switches to do and comparing actual to anticipated behaviour.

Yes, bring headphones and a guitar to try before you buy.

You could ask about Helix Native which is available at a one time discount all Helix devices. If the original owner hasn’t used the discount it is still available for the next owner. Is it still available for that device?

Yay!! I refer to this book often and appreciate the free updates.

Try the Studio Tube Pre model in the Preamp -> Mic section. There’s also the Tube Drive model in Distorion -> Legacy. Those are the first ones that come to my mind.

Yes. In HX Edit drag/drop a preset vertically in the preset list. See HX Edit v3.70 manual pg 14.

The diagram can hide the important part you need to understand, which is the signal path. Trace the sequence of cables that the signal follows as a mental exercise and then make sure the cables correspond. The signal travels like this: guitar -> POD Go input -> POD Go Send -> Amp guitar input-> amp Send -> POD Go Return -> POD Go output -> amp return and finally the amp speaker. In your case you have external pedals in the amp FX Loop. That’s fine. Just make sure the final output of those pedals is connected to the POD Go Return.

Your understanding is correct which suggests your cabling is incorrect. Check it against the diagram in the manual.

The device itself doesn’t tell you that; it only shows you that you’re reaching the limit by greying out blocks that can no longer be added to the preset. But you can perform manual calculations by using one of the several tables that users have created that shows the DSP requirements for individual blocks. Here’s what I believe is the original and most popular one; https://benvesco.com/store/helix-dsp-allocations/

Is it possible that your DAW is not passing the keystrokes to the Helix Native plug-in? That happened to me once when I was unable to sign in using Cakewalk. I had to change a DAW setting to pass the keystrokes through, and voila….

Again, no harm in sticking with what you like. But I think you're right to not give up on Helix Native. Also, HN is capable of delivering better tones than Pod Farm. I think you are doing yourself a disservice by trying to just get the same tone. Play and fiddle around, especially with the cab/mic setups. They are extremely versatile and can dramatically change the tone. Try applying some lo- and hi-cuts at around 80Hz and 8KHz respectively. If you haven't done so already explore the factory presets and download some presets from Customtone. There are also very high quality presets available for purchase from Marketplace. Perhaps there are some free samples there you could explore.

CC5 Value = 2. See manual pg 31

I assume your POD Go is set to receive MIDI clock info? See Global Settings.