解:
(1) 对已知多项式去括号、合并同类项:
$\begin{aligned}&2(mx^2 - x - \dfrac{7}{2}) + 4x^2 + 3nx =& 2mx^2 - 2x -7 +4x^2 +3nx \\=& (2m + 4)x^2 + (-2 + 3n)x -7\end{aligned}$
因为多项式的值与$x$的取值无关,所以所有含$x$的项的系数均为0,即:
$\begin{cases}2m + 4 = 0 \\-2 + 3n = 0\end{cases}$
解得:$m=-2,$$n=\dfrac{2}{3}。$
(2) 先化简所求代数式:
$\begin{aligned}&3(2m^2 - 3mn -5m -1) +6(-m^2 + mn -1) =& 6m^2 -9mn -15m -3 -6m^2 +6mn -6 \\=& -3mn -15m -9\end{aligned}$
将$m=-2,$$n=\dfrac{2}{3}$代入上式:
$\begin{aligned}&\mathrm{原式}\\=& -3×(-2)×\dfrac{2}{3} -15×(-2) -9 \\=& 4 + 30 -9 \\=& 25\end{aligned}$
综上,(1) $m=-2,$$n=\dfrac{2}{3};$(2) 代数式的值为25。