First off, thank you for being so precise and so clear in your answers, where my questions were - because of my ignorance - nebulous due to (as you put it) conflation... neat word. The information in these last few posts have done more than you would ever believe to bring the process out of the fog. I had to know the why - this cleared it all up! Thank you again, Bill.

As to my incredibly wordy code: I agree... makes writing code almost pointless... just string the bloody nodes together, it's quicker, right?

May I ask you a quick question? Just one more? Please? (sheesh, I'm annoying, even to ME!)

When I do this stuff:
gamma = Add(2.2)
color = ImageMap("blah blah")
gamma_pow = Color_Pow(color, gamma)

I have three nodes that I can dictate .inputscollapsed and .pos to by name:

gamma.inputscollapsed = 1
color.inputscollapsed = 1
gamma_pow.inputscollapsed = 1

and similarly do positioning on the material room floor. However, if I:

ImageMap("blah blah.jpg") ** 2.2

...I get all kinds of nodes I have no idea how to reference so I can tidy things up. Call me pedantic, but I like things working right and tidy too. With emphasis on the former. Is there a way to do so from within a script that you know of?

Monterey/Mint21.x/Win10 - Blender3.x - PP11.3(cm) - Musescore3.6.2

Wir sind gewohnt, daß die Menschen verhöhnen was sie nicht verstehen
[it is clear that humans have contempt for that which they do not understand] 

Metaphor of Chooks