Assistance with Embracing Islam, please advise

As-salamu alaykum, everyone. I have a question and would appreciate your guidance. If this isn’t the right place to ask, please tell me where I should go and I will post there. I’ll share my background briefly so you understand where I’m coming from - I mean no disrespect to anyone. I was raised Catholic. Over time I became troubled by things like idolatrous practices, certain attitudes among some clergy, and how many believers seemed unaware of their own faith (people who call themselves very Christian yet have never read the Bible). I’m the kind of person who questions things - not out of rebellion, but because I’m sincerely searching for spiritual truth. The more I read reliable sources - historians, scholars, theologians - the more I felt that modern Christianity, at least in my experience in the West, has drifted far from what Jesus and the early communities taught and practiced. I don’t want to get into long debates about that here. What finally pushed me away was witnessing leaders in my community twist Scripture to suit certain agendas, presenting bad as good and good as bad while claiming it was “the Church’s direction.” I won’t give details because it’s sensitive and could cause trouble. So I decided I couldn’t continue living a lie. I left Christianity and began exploring other faiths. I’ve grown sincerely interested in Islam and would like to learn more. So my questions are: where should I begin studying Islam? What are the steps to convert? At what point is someone truly considered a Muslim? JazakAllahu khairan for any guidance you can offer - I’m grateful for your help on this spiritual path.