So, in chasing an idle issue, and narrowing the culprit to an electrical issue, several folks(as well as the DMC Dallas tech) thought the best starting place was the thermister. And thus, I just took my first journey to what some apparently refer to as the "valley of death"(I now see why it got that name!). The layout of the intake, the wiring, the spindle, etc all made for a challenging endeavor, but I am proud to say that I successfully found and changed the thermister! Some of you real mechanic folks probably do this in your sleep, but I had never done an engine job of this nature, so I'm fairly happy to have pulled this off.
Next, I'll attempt to reassemble everything, and then cross my fingers. Thanks for all your help on here!!!