The console command help no longer works the same way it used to.

For example, when I type help "dragon" to see the listed NPC ID's for any actor containing the word "dragon", the only thing I get in response is:

filters: 0-all 1-functions, 2-settings, 3-globals, 4-other forms

also, when I just enter the word help alone, the message IsFlyingMountFastTravelling ?appears.

what can I do to get object IDs now???

That's odd. Hopefully someone else can help you fix the actual problem, but in the meantime you can use http://skyrimsearch.com/ to get codes.