Sorry, I didn't read the complete thread of the previous post you linked above until just now. I'm so new to this, I'm not aware of what it means to create an app using swiftui, but I'll look into that when I get back on this.
I had followed the strategy of another tutorial whereby you share the view model and app classes defined in the phone app with the watch app. I'll create another combined project, and look for differences in the way the app class (main) is implemented in the watch.
if nothing jumps out at me, I'll try setting up my project the way you recommended now that found your suggested implementation.
BTW, I'm a retired EE getting back into coding to as I build various imbedded projects. iOS development has been an interesting experience, as my background is imbedded HW controller design, and C/C++. Swift is somewhat strange and interesting at the same time.
thank you so much for taking time to respond. I'll let you know how this project gets along.