So @yojuan 's post was super helpful and got me in the right direction and everything works fine, even with the “ONE” specs. (Not sure how to link the post but easily searchable on the forum)
Since Alexa needed that “Mode” thing I expanded something workable in the rules and wondering if someone did something similar/better.
rule “Mode Change”
when
Item Mode changed
then
switch(Mode.state){
case 0:{
MainSwitch.sendCommand("OFF");
}
case 1:{
if (CoolingMode.state == "ON"){
CoolingMode.sendCommand("OFF");
}
HeatingMode.sendCommand("ON");
}
case 2:{
if (HeatingMode.state == "ON") {
HeatingMode.sendCommand("OFF");
}
CoolingMode.sendCommand("ON");
}
case 3:{
HeatingMode.sendCommand("ON");
CoolingMode.sendCommand("ON");
}
}
end
Now I can tell Alexa to “Turn Heat On” and the proper mode will be turned on. I still have not programmed backwards compatibility (ie physically turning on heat at the pi will switch the mode).