> Is the distinction that the suchness is somehow conscious/aware but not "conscious of itself"?

Yes, that’s correct

There is experience itself (“suchness”), and one possible object that can exist in that experience/be experienced is the idea that one is a “self.”

But you can also have experience that does not have within it the sensation of “self.” So they must be distinct.

Okay, I think that's basically the distinction I was making between 'awareness' vs 'consciousness'. I guess it's not workable, since 'awareness' does not seem to communicate that concept well even to someone who knows the distinction.