I was hoping to get started with making a few tiny mods (Changing a trait or two, maybe adding a new planetary improvement once I feel more comfortable), but browsing the .xml files has me totally confused.

I'll use the first thing I wanted to try as an example.

I wanted to change the Riftborn's Machine Embodiment so that it could be bought-out with Dust, just to see how that would play out.

I spent some time browsing the .xml files, and I think I've found the Riftborn's Machine Embodiment function down at the bottom of the file ..\Public\Simulation\ConstructibleElement_Industry[StarSystemImprovement].xml ...

but, I was never able to find anything under that name, "Machine Embodiment", in any of the files I searched.

This poses a number of problems for someone who has not yet spent much time with the .xml files: 

1) Searching for something based on its name in-game seems to... well, not work.

2) It's hard to be sure that I've found what I was looking for, even if it looks to work as expected.

3) I'm left wondering where and how anything is actually given its in-game name.

Can a more experienced person help me out here?

Is there an .xml file I haven't found yet where everything is given its name?

I'm sorry if this is something that's been explained many times before.

Riftborn's Machine Embodiment so that it could be bought-out with Dust'

I hope, you will done this mode and public in workshop ^^