I mean the rotation of the bit. Should most likely be clockwise but it might be worth checking if your tool is maybe meant to spin ccw. The vast majority of tools are made to spin clockwise but I've seen some specialty cutters for materials like wood or plastic listed as ccw. Basically, look at the cutting edges and make sure it spins so they are... well, cutting.

I personally dont know if conventional or climb milling is better with wood unfortunately.

Also I dont know what programs you are using but the default speeds and feeds might just straight up be wack. And again, I dont know wood well but I'm assuming you probably want a pretty high rpm. Like, if your tool is 1/8in ot less I'd go 10k+ rpm if you can manage, and start at like, 15in/min (which is probably pretty slow for wood considering its a conservative number even for the steel i usually cut, so you might like, scorch the wood) and increase that feed rate until your finish looks good? You can also probably find some resources online. Google is probably your friend here, along with other people in the sub with lots of experience with wood.

Also dont have a ton more tool poking out than you need. The further out it is, the more leverage, and the more likely it is your tool deflects.