At what point, does all this start to come together? What helped you hone
your CFII skills? Is this just something that only getting out there
and flying will help?

Before my CFII, I could fly a good NDB approach, but it was largely by
following rote procedures for figuring out how to make course corrections.
But after several hours of instructing pilots in NDB approaches, I finally
gained a real understanding of how to fly NDB approaches. I could look at
the indicator, determine my position relative to the desired course, and
figure the necessary correction without a lot of mental gymnastics.

--
Larry Fransson
Seattle, WA