Union via Extrude Submenu Behaves Differently?

When I extrude a new sketch and then click the submenu icon and choose “Union”, the results are not the same as using “union” between bodies from the main left screen menu; The “seams” between the new extrusion and the old body do not disappear, and the new extrusion seems to still be a separate body. I have to go to choose “union” from the main left side to highight the parts and then join them into one. Is this normal?

Yeah, I can never get an extrude to union. I always have to do a separate union operation.

Prior to history based, extrude to union used to work. Just sayin’