I think I get the gist of what you're saying. After listening to it again, I think what you're talking about really applies to most of the first half of the lead, right? It seems like later on I kind of got away from the 1,2,3,4 a little bit.

Or am I misunderstanding?

I think you're on to something and this is exactly the kind of advice I need, because my music theory and improvising is way behind my ability. I started out as a copy cat pretty much.

So I really appreciate your advice.