Variables passed to docx should be accessible everywhere and repeatedly?

Finding some strange behavior which I can't explain. I am not super facile with node.js but assume when a variable is passed, it is accessible anywhere and repeatedly. Please correct me if I am wrong.

On a page of the docx, I am calling a variable which doesn't return anything...

# example
On a scale of 0-100, the document’s sentiment score is: {{ sentiment }}

However, if I repeat it elsewhere it renders...

# test area at the bottom of the doc
Test section
sentiment: 98 <-- this is the {{ sentiment }} variable repeated

# here is a snippet of the sampleData passed to the doc

const sampleData = {
<snip>
"sentiment": sentiment,
</snip>
};

# and here is a console.log of the correct sampleData
INFO sampleData--> { sentiment: 98}

I thought it was related to upgrading to @adobe/pdfservices-node-sdk 2.2.2 but I rolled back to 2.2.0 and the behavior still exists. In previous months, calling variables was rock solid and I got exactly what I expected.

Thanks in advance.