How to convert Drupal Field Collection to Node? I am using Drupal 7 and have a Field Collection that I would like to convert to a custom content type (Node) with the exact same fields. What is the best way to do this? The field collection has the following field types: Postal address, Geolocation, Term reference, Text, Office hours, List (text), Integer.

Unfortunately I am running into too many issues with some of my fields and the Field Collection module. For example, I cannot create a View and use "Has taxonomy terms (with depth)" on a term reference inside a Field Collection. If I switch to two separate fields for the taxonomy term (e.g. State and City) and try using the Reference field option limit module, the fields do not update inside a Field Collection.

I created a custom content type and have successfully been able to create and access the data as needed using Inline Entity Form. Can I modify the database directly? I noticed the Field Collection items do no exist in the Node table. I can create entries in the Node table but I'm wondering if I'll be missing something.
This sounds like a job for the Migrate module: https://drupal.org/project/migrate

I don't know if it can do what you need out of the box, but at least in the issue queue there are discussions about migrating between fields and field collections.

Migrate Field Collections documentation page: https://drupal.org/node/1900640

Editing the database directly is rarely a good idea.