USA Nonresident alien grad student - reporting grants and filing 8843?

[TAE]

Hi and thanks for any advice in advance!

I’m an international grad student studying in Tennessee (F-1 visa) and a nonresident alien for tax purposes in 2018. I have 2 questions as I prepare my 2018 tax return:

1. If I received a grant to conduct my dissertation research, is this considered taxable income that should be reported? And if so, am I correct that it should be reported as scholarship/fellowship grant?
2. I was present in the US for the first half of 2018 and then left to conduct my research (in South Africa). I have not yet returned to the US. Do I need to file form 8843? I ask because my tax prep software did not automatically generate this form whereas in previous years it has. I know that on Jan 1 2019 I became a resident alien for tax purposes but don’t think this should matter.

Thanks for any help or suggestions of who might assist in answering these questions.