thanks for the explanation, Matt. I eventually did figure this out, when I tried the server installation method instead of the Vagrant method I started with. While it was  still a little complicated navigating all the errors, I think this is probably the better way when using the AT.

Now one more question on this:  At some point I had the Vagrant install method of the AT and the manual install method on my Windows laptop.  In the end the AT seems to stop responding: no preview, error contact admin, and other fun stuff.  Is this intended? Are users not supposed to have manual framework and AT installations on the same computer?