RickG wrote:...I am wondering if I have been playing it too safe with my brew parameters and missing out on the nuances some coffees have to offer.

I think you might be, it's worth exploring the full extraction space, even if it's just for experience. Some coffees have a large sweet spot, but some have a very narrow window that when you nail are really worth the effort IMO. It's fun to do also if you invite some other coffee people over to have a shot tasting session, that way you can pull more shots in a session and see how they work out.