@nprofile1q... I owe an apology to the Linux gods. It was all a hardware issue. This Geekom pos mini computer did not have the actual wifi antenna connected to the wireless card. In fact, they were routed and taped down in a path so that they couldn't possibly even reach the connection points. I had to pull up all the tape, reroute the wires, make the connection, and NOW I can see the network.
So it was shitty mini PC hardware, not OS at all.
🤦♂️