Here’s what I hear David Reed saying about modal vs tonal.
The tonal view is always the major scale map. The tonic sound doesn’t change in a song that’s written in one key. Always the same map.
The modal view happens in a song that’s written so the HOME tone is not the 1 of the major scale, but a different note of the major scale. So in 2nd harmonic environment (aka Dorian mode) the sound revolves around the sound of 2, not 1.
IFR doesn’t renumber the tones, unlike everybody else. In IFR, the sounds of 2nd environment are 23456712. Standard music theory renumbers those sound to be 12b3456b71. But it’s all the same sound.
The central question to answer is where is the HOME sound of the sound or progression. Is it 1 2, 6 etc. Where is the sound of final rest.
To me, each new chord in a progression is a new harmonic environment with different consonant and dissonant tones. But it’s too much so say you change modes for each chord change. Still on the same tonal map.
I’m happy to have anyone correct my thinking.