Mycology

Whether or not to just go for it would depend on your investment and goal. Did you spend what you consider to be a lot on your spores? If you decide not to experiment with cultivation, can you return them or resell them? Basically, are you going to be wasting your investment if you don't try, or if you try and fail? Then, what's your goal? Learning because it seems like a fun hobby, or just getting these specific mushrooms right the first time?

Personally, I'd just go ahead and try as best as you can. Use the advice you got, but don't stress about it if it's not perfect. The most likely failure is nothing will grow and you'll have wasted whatever you spent on materials and a little time. Absolutely worst case scenario is that contamination in your substrate somehow introduces a different kind of mushroom that you weren't expecting and - again worst case scenario - you don't realize it's the wrong kind of mushroom and eat it and die. That seems wildly unlikely, though.

Am I reading too deep into it

Not sure about reading too deep but it does sound like you're overthinking.

just shove the syringe in and tape over and see what happens?

"You can either try and possibly fail, or not try and definitely fail."

It’s just going to be some trial and error. The first time I grew some I had ten jars, did everything as right as I could, and only two came out without penicillin growing. But over time I started to made adjustments based on information I had and started to get better crops. I keep the area pretty sterile but not as meticulous as I could but still come out all right. Just depends on your goals I guess but it’s going to take trial and error either way if it’s something you’ve never done before

Understand you'll probably lose a few grows. It's more or less inevitable. If the only reason you're getting into it is for "yield", you will burn out quickly. Keep a journal. Write down why you made the decisions you did. Experiment. Have fun with it.

I had better luck with WBS but have also used UB bags and recommend the shroomscout guides and shoebox Tek. Don't overthink it. Bleach, heat, Lysol, still air for inoculation. I had similar results using a SAB and inoculating over an open oven. Be patient and follow the guides and you'll get there.

Lots of methods work, but they each have their own pros and cons. Different yields, different risks, different costs, etc. There is no method that is perfect, IMHO.

That said, shroomscout's guide is good, though personally I found 90sm's videos to be similar content but easier to digest. ( He also had a video on fruiting from the bag but I've never tried it)

I don't know your situation but I know a lot of people on this path are doing it to try to deal with shit they haven't otherwise been able to deal with.

If that describes you, then my advice is to inoculate a few bags using whatever method you feel like you can handle right now.

If you have a normal size syringe, you can do several bags of UB and still have a lot left over to try again.

Then, while you're waiting for growth, keep learning. If it doesn't work out, figure out what went wrong, fix it, and try again.

I feel ya. It is a lot of details. Some details are more important than others. The very demanding guides out there are maximizers. Not all of that is absolutely necessary, especially if you're growing a faster species like Golden Teachers. Basically every mushroom grow is a race against contamination. Every batch will eventually show contamination. The better the methodology you use, the more time you get until contamination. Practicing and experimenting with your methodology will reveal what steps are important for your situation and species. There are many ways to manage contamination and each guide is just one way to do it.

I say, give it a go and do what you can to inoculate in a sanitary environment. I've had some luck with those pouches without a perfect SAB. Maybe 50/50 and it depends a lot on the strain you're using. I've had better luck with inoculating straight to BRF cakes.