Hi @w5EF9,
Thanks for reaching out and for sharing the details. Could you please confirm which version of Illustrator and operating system you're using? I tested this on version 30.0 and the graphic placement controls worked as expected on my end.
Would you mind checking if this behavior is limited to a specific file or if it happens with all new documents? If it's happening everywhere, please try resetting Illustrator preferences once and then test again. You can follow the steps here: Reset Preferences or do it manually using this short guide: YouTube link.
If the issue still continues after that, please share a short screen recording showing your workflow up to the point where it happens, so I can check it further.
Looking forward to your update.
Abhishek