I was sort of in your situation. I rode a "10 speed" Schwinn Le Tour (drop bar, gears, etc) from age 13 to 23, then essentially little to no riding (mostly on the wrong kinds of bikes for me) until about 2 years ago. I bought a Trek FX 7.3 and LOVED IT. I put probably 2,000 miles on in 10 months. However I wanted more hand positions and decided I wanted steel, so 10 months after buying the FX, I bought a Surly Cross Check and never looked back. So many more hand positions available with drop bars, etc. I ride with platform pedals with no interest in clipless pedals, so if you go straight for a road bike you might want do get some cheap platforms until you get comfortable with everythng else, then switch to clipless if that's your ultimate goal. I think it's better not to try to learn too many different things at once, however everyone is different.
I will say that the FX is a great bike and if you got it first, nothing wrong with saving it for an "errand" bike or such - fenders, racks, a bell, etc. This would be a totally different set up than you'd have on a traditional road bike which won't have room/eyelets for fenders, racks, etc.

So...you could easily go either way. Have fun!