Mike you are having so much fun.
You are absolutely right about this. I've been interested in 3D printing from before I had an interest in machining. In fact I was debating a 3D printer vs the Sherline lathe I eventually bought (3D printers cost a lot more and could do a lot less back then) so I've been following them for at least 10 years.
I joined a FB 3D printer group, and when people ask about which printer to buy you can almost substitute lathe / mill and the brand names and they would be about the same, well except for the old USA iron bit, being much younger technology that is rapidly advancing there isn't much if any push to go with old machines.
There are lots of machines out there but the two that come to the top as far as recommendations are the Ender 3 (cheap, but works) and Prusa 3 (not so cheap, but comes with all the cool mods so you don't need to add them yourself). I get the impression the Ender 3 is the 7x14 mini-lathe of the 3D printers (except for size, the Ender is comparable to many others in that regard).
With the Ender 3 available for less than $200 it does seem to be a pretty painless choice. Don't feel bad though, because like I said above I've been interested for a long time and still suffering from massive analysis paralysis. Ender or Prusa, PLA or resin oh my.
BTW I had made a decision and was all set to get the Prusa i3 for my birthday (November) when you posted that damn CL ad, and my birthday present turned into 800lbs of cast iron milling machine instead. It is ok though, they will make more 3D printers, so maybe I'll get an Ender 3 for Christmas. Plus 3D printers are evolving so quickly that delays result in getting a machine that is cheaper, better or both. I'm also really digging the old mill.