Finally… I got this working!
The solution was to wind back to an earlier build of MicroPython… which I found referenced in this post: Raspberry Pi Pico W I2C/Piicodev Bug [Solved]
Worked first time… then didn’t, unsure why, but I nuked the flash, reinstalled 20220831 uf2, and it’s been just fine.
So it seems that whatever broke after that 2022 build has stayed broke…
Some of the technical details in that other thread go over my head…but it does surprise me that this apparently has not been fixed in two years!
Anyway… I have something working, now need to test it, and maybe tweak FOV parameters. I saw a post somewhere that talked about that…
Cheers,