Hi Justin,
Thank you for the details.
I logged in to check your configuration, but I could not see the search bar on the back-end, I guess the ownership does not allow it to me, since this is a multisite.
I created a new one, and I applied the same configuration as you attached on the screenshots.
1. This option gets rid off the search bar, and display the options only. Now, if you use the search shortcode anywhere, it will print the drop-downs only. I replaced the shortcode with the search bar I created, you can swtich it back of course.
2 & 3. Yes, and for that I changed the shortcode section like so: https://i.imgur.com/vt1MztY.png
Changing the options on the resources page, now triggers the search and displays the results under the “Results” title.
I can also recommend the auto-populate feature, which triggers upon page load, and displays results initially.