...if I call an external method as an action resulting from a form post, and spit out raw html, it works great. BUT I cannot seem to use DTML objects very easily from within it.
You can, its just very difficult.
Not so if one of those DTML methods is an EXTERNAL method which would like to manipulate DTML methods (from its own folder) with the same ease--or so I think, being unable to find really *good* documentation on exactly what I can do with my "self." (if a posting is going to be long, it darn well better be entertaining...)
...erm yep its difficult. I tried to write and explanation, but figured after a while that I didnt really understand the exact reason why not. I have rendered dtml in python by writing a class that is derived from DTMLDoc (similar to the Wiki style).