Why can't I lock the Tool Panel height?

In all previous versions of Illustrator, I was abel to have 3 panels stacked on top of eachother, docked on the side. Each panel having 3-5 tool tabs. The same is true of 2023. However, previously I was able to set the height of eight panel and it wouldn't change based on the tabs height. So, for instance, Id have
layers, Pathfinder, and artboards on top

Properties, Alignment and Stroke in the center panel

And then, (lets say) Swatches, Symbols, and Assets in Bottom Panel.
Ive always been able to adjust the height of each (for instance) panel so they took up a 3rd of the space and they'd be fixed regardless of other tools size. If there was empty sapace, theres emply space. If there was more info beyond panel, it'd provide a scroll bar within the panel. But, now when I select a tab, everything resize based on that tab. In most cases It collapses the other panels all together, like if you have the "Properties" tab selected in center Panel, The top panel and bottom collapse to accomidate. I have a methode to my madness and this is driving me crazy. And just to be clear, neither selecting/deselecting the "Auto-Collapse Iconic Panels" nor "Autoshow Hidden Panels" when right-clicking on a panel changes anything.