There's a tutorial? Hmm... (loads up BG2) Well what'dya know, there is one!
Or do you mean the infamous 'chateau Irenicus', otherwise known as the starting dungeon? Because if you're feeling confident in your abilities you can skip the tutorial and go straight to the game, it starts off fairly kindly and you could pick up the rest as you go along.
I actually don't use the Auto-Saves though, keep in mind this is a ten year old game. Auto-save, while common on consoles, was never really prominent in PC gaming, relying instead on the good ol' quicksave mechanic. Q button, if I recall correctly. Or was it G? One of those two.
And yes, some of the monster encounters can get downright brutal later on in the game. I still have nightmares about Mind Flayers and Vampires... oh gods, the memories... Minsc just got his brain eaten, and Aerie got level drained so I can't resurrect him. Worst of all, I'M OUT OF RESTORATION SCROLLS!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
Ahem.. on further reading though you're playing through the main game and yet it always reloads you into the tutorial? Odd. No, I've never gotten that. Can't you simply load your main game through the menu though?