The best advice was this: Something to the effect that playing a tune by rote was like soup without seasoning. It told me I needed to learn beat, rhythm, feel and tune.
It got me away from focusing on the fact that merely adding ornamentation to notes does not an ITM make.
It REALLY opened my eyes to not trying to just emulate but to express. My ornamentations went down dramatically, my breathing became focused, the tune became almost secondary.
As a result, I can play tunes with the confidence and a style I never expected.
to whomever gave that sage advice some months ago, thank you.