Thanks for the info. I got a little more info on this "penalty". Basically he told me that if it is "Retail Sold" and the vehicle is not sold and gone from the lot in like 72 hours, then GM will take away one of their allocations because they think the dealer is trying to play the system. He said dealers were doing this a lot in the past to get vehicles quickly and then selling them to the general public at a huge mark-up. I guess that sounds believable.
I'm still concerned about him saying that even as "Retail Sold" I won't have price protection. Someone on this forum pasted this link awhile ago which seems to imply I should be price-protected: https://gmauthority.com/blog/2022/04/gm-is-offering-price-protection-on-sold-customer-orders/
first part sounds about right...ordered a Ram 3500, dealer said that I had four days to complete the paperwork once it hit their lot or I'd lose the price protection...which was right at $3k
ultimately a lot of these questions really need to be asked upfront before ordering, but most on here probably order and then midway through the process they start researching and find nuances they should've inquired a little more on