The workshop you attended should have addresses the basics at least.
There is no easy to advise you and you complicate the problems by apparently trying to push a square peg into a round hole!
The iBooks Author page is 1024 x 748 - thats it ! You need to adjust your content to fit the page. There is a scrolling text widget if you want to have relevant text on one page.
When any menu item is greyed out - its because what you want to apply it to - does not qualify. WHY it does not qualify is in most instances because something has been changed incorrectly or the target is locked. Select the item and open ARRANGE top menu look to see if the Lock / Unlock options are greyed out or active and apply accordingly.
Templates and pages.
People change pages and often expect that change to active for the whole book... its not its one page. I assume your workshop explained how to open the left column BOOK slide down to reveal the template pages.
With respect - I am assuming this is your first book and have not yet mastered the basics.
I would suggest you put your project to one side and spend a few of your session with iBooks Author, to open a new book from an an untouched Apple template and see what you can do moving and changing things. Look in the Inspector to see if elements are locked or not.. the easy option to check the vertical line separating two columns of text on a page. select one - at top and bottom appear to small Xs - its locked. Open ARRANGE and the "Locked" should deb greyed out..click UNLOCK - the Xs go and you can move the line or delete it.
The same happens with any elements used to create the template.
As for your current problems. From what you say you efforts to shoehorn content into your page - may be the cause and without knowing every detail of your work... its impossible to offer a solution.
There is a free iBook which I think is one of the best. Try here... www.ibook-widgets.com or search the iBooks store for "create your first interactive book"
