Text animation and drop shadow?

I'm pretty new to After Effects. I'm trying to animate text that moves with some motion-tracked images on screen. The images are linked to null objects with motion tracking applied.

When I try to link the text with either the images or null objects, the text does not move.

Also, when I add a Drop Shadow effect to the Text layer, I don't see the drop shadow.

It seems like text layers must work differently. How can I accomplish my goal?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Edit: Even the stroke setting on the text doesn't create a stroke. I'm confused!