click and drag vertex

[micheus]

Jeffers, welcome to our community.

Some of the tutorial videos i've watched show the user just clicking a vertex and dragging it without RMB then menu selecting move etc.

That is the Tweak mode. You need to enable it.
If you are using the newest Wings3D version you do that using [ALT]+[RMB] (keep pressed CTRL while pressing the Right Mouse Buttom).
If you are using an old one, then you must use [CTRL]+[RMB].
You will gain access to Tweak menu and the first option is to Enable/Disable it.

also one shows making the selection circle bigger.

That is the magnet resource of Tweak. You also need to Enable/Disable it in the same menu.

As a new Wings3D user I do recommend you always pay attention to the Information Line - the bottom one.

The Tweak hotkeys information use to be shown in top of Geometry window and others status in the bottom of the same window.

You may consider take a look at some videos from Wings3D Channel at YouTube. They can (maybe) help you to understand some of Wings3D operations.

If possible, tell us which version are you using.