Thanks! If it does turn out to be the cvt, I'd be willing to give it a go, and it's always good to have options!
Things that keep me hopeful it's not the cvt are:
*Not throwing any codes and gear indicator isn't blinking
*I can be getting no response from the gas pedal, turn car off & back on and car drives normal, as if something was reset. This is what makes me think like ECU or gas pedal sensor, or something along those lines?
*Can take short drives around town without any issues. The symptoms I described before these more major ones developed, always happened at approx 15 miles into my 40 mile commute, and then wouldn't happen again for the rest of that trip. If it's the transmission, I would't think it would have been so "consistent"