"When entering a back door roth conversion, should Part 1 of form 8606 be populating?"

Yes; example here: https://www.merriman.com/wealth-enhancement/how-to-report-a-backdoor-roth-ira-contribution-on-your-t...

"Basis is same as the amount converted, so they should not owe tax on the distribution on the 1099 R"

As long as the person has no other funds in any Traditional IRA. Otherwise, this nondeductible amount is part of the % that is not taxable, but the Total basis and Total account(s) balance(s) across all Traditional IRA accounts is used for how much will be taxable upon conversion. See this article:

https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i8606