Nathan, it is a transition period.
It is important to start using the MySQLi extensions whenever possible. That doesn't mean that you will be able to do everything with MySQli though.
For some things, you will need to revert back to using standard MySQL.
I'm not suggesting that you scrap the work you have done with MySQLi on other pages, I'm only saying that for this particular page where you need to use the Manage relational table behavior, you will need to use the standard MySQL behaviors.
The time frame for when MySQL will no longer be supported is still some way off. That will happen when PHP 6 is released, and your hosting company installs it to your server. even when that happens, most hosting companies give you the option to continue using the previous php version. I work with 1 and 1 and they offer the option of using php 4, or php 5.