Some thoughts on your points:
I suppose it has to do with the perspective taken when experiencing the dream phenomenon;
a more dualistic perspective vs. a less dualistic perspective or form of lucidity of the dreamer:
From a classic conventional lucid dreaming perspective, when one would succeed to become lucid by doing state checks and realizes one is in a dream, then one would perceive/understand the anomalies of the dream state in contrast to the waking state.
While awake, the conventional lucid dreamer still perceives the waking state as normal, solid reality.
When using prospective memory practices during the day like repeating “This is a dream!” or “Is this a dream?” then the conventional lucid dreamer may succeed in repeating this habit with the associated reality check also during dream state and may successfully become lucid.
But, has one’s perspective of waking reality really changed at all with this prospective memory practice/state check practice only?
Probably not (much), since it is one thing to take the actual reality check and do it and succeeed, and another to actually try to see waking reality as a dream or dreamlike.
After all, what evidence is there that would convince a sceptical dualistic mind that waking reality is indeed a dream or dreamlike?!
So, I suppose the conventional lucid dreamer becomes lucid, but lucid in a dualistic perspective.
From a dream yoga point of view, one is practicing to dissolve the dualistic perpective. From a non-dualistic perspective, one would see the similarities between waking and dreaming experiences, seeing both of these as dreamlike.
What does this mean?
In a dream, that is obvious. All characters, actions, stories, emotions are the dream, no doubt.
In waking state, not quite so obvious, but from a non-dualistic perspective still very similar and dreamlike:
The person I think I am, the story of myself, of others, my life, my view of my environment, my emotions. All identity reifications in my mind? Mental reification equals dream ?
What happens to those identities when one gets a hard knock on the head (e.g. in a car accident) and one cannot remember all these identities? Where are those reified identities then?
One is still conscious, perhaps hasn’t lost all other abilites like talking etc but has no idea who one is.
The identity dream has dissolved but one is present and conscious and alive.
And other mental phenomena like emotions… are they not transient, energetic waves passing through the perceiver? Where are they when the wave has passed and what is the difference of an emotion experienced in a dream to one experienced during waking state?
So, even without having to lose those identity reifications by getting knocked on the head, one could practice to see mental phenomena as dreamlike, not solid. The story about oneself as a father, mother, husband, wife, co-worker, pro-golfer etc. could be seen as only dreamlike temporary reifications.
B.Alan Wallace has often used the Dona Sutta (paraphrased by me below):
Dona once asked the Buddha in awe:
“Are you a god?”
The Buddha said “no”.
“Are you a cellestial being?”
“No”.
“Are you an earth spirit?”
“No”
“Are you a man?”
“No”
“Then what are you?”
“I am awake”
B. Alan Wallace offers the interpretation that the Buddha answered Dona honestly (although being of human descend) by first drawing the comparison to a lucid dream (ref. Fall 2014 8-Week Retreat-Audio Stream of SBI):
Imagine being in a in a lucid dream and - being lucid yourself - a dream character would ask you those questions that Dona asked the Buddha.
The dream character - believing that he is man - would ask you if you are a man, too (implying “a man like him”) - would it be correct to answer “yes”, although you would know that he is a dream character in your dream, not aware of that and not a man?
So, an honest answer would indeed be “no”.
So what would be an good answer to describe what you are?
“I am awake”, saying effectively “I am lucid” would be a good answer to describe precisely your state in the lucid dream.
B. Alan Wallace then refers to the waking state:
From a perspective of non-dual awareness, in which all conditional identities are seen as empty phenomena, if one would be asked to describe what one is, wouldn’t be “I am awake (i.e. aware/lucid)” a very precise answer?
So, perhaps from a traditional dream yoga perspective, where dream yoga practice is closely associated with other non-dualistic treachings (dzogchen, sleep yoga, chöd, etc.), a practicioner would practice to integrate the same, non-dualistic view during both dream and waking state.
This integrative view stands in contrast to the dualistic view of a conventional lucid dreamer.
That is interesting, so in some instances, you were not lucid and then put your finger through your palm and did not become lucid?
For me, it is mostly that I become lucid first (by looking at my hands and seeing an anomaly, or by noticing some other anomaly) and then - when I am already lucid - I do the finger through palm test, knowing that I am lucid.