Changes to gradient UI

When creating a gradient, I used to be able to create a new layer, then hold "shift" down while drawing the line, which kept it completely vertically balanced (not leaning to one side or the other). But now, holding shift down does nothing. And there appears to be no way to ensure that the gradient isn't slanted. Why do new "improvements" to the UI keep ending up creating more work for me? (I'm still annoyed by the extra steps in saving a file, having to add in the "save as copy" bit.)