Improve Date Range Entry for Scheduling Tasks

The workflow for entry doesn't seem as intuitive as it was in the past (primarily when editing the schedule of existing jobs).

1) If you start typing in the date, it isn't saved when you click off of it. You have to hit <tab> to keep the value you entered.

2) The start date can't be in the past.

3) It would be better from a user's perspective to allow me to put a date in the date field without popping the calendar up. If I wanted the calendar, I would click on the green calendar icon.