As usual, interesting post rich in content.
I will clarify my position, but there is a lot to work here and I may forget parts and comment extra parts later.
By "
simplified meme" I refer to those who mention
E-CTS1273 being Central/East Balkan shifted to imlply that this must mean it was Thracian, which is what Bulgarian commenters who comment about EV13 Bulgarian diversity tend to do.
I agree that it is most likely not a coastal lineage and that it probably was not a common lineage among Delmato-Pannonians as Katicic divides them in his onomastic system.
His onomastic system is very useful but does not necessarily tell us if there were different languages being spoken or different ethnicity.
I think delmato-pannonians and illyrians proper were both illyric languages, and one of my reasonings for this is Messapic colonization of Italy, in which we have both delmato-pannonian tribes (iapodes) and dardanian tribes (galabrioi) (which are Illyrian proper according to Katicic's onomastic system).
Differences in naming conventions can arise from different neighbouring influences, religious notions, etc. In Kosovo during the 80s-90s, Albanians took entirely different names (related to patriotic themes) from other Albanians on the other side of the border, as the Yugoslavian disintegration had a cultural effect. Yet Albanians on other side of the border spoke the exact same language.
So katicics name system is very useful, and is very indicivative at the very least of compact cultural zones/ or political zones of influence, and at the very most: different ethnicities that spoke different languages.
I think however, that even if delmato-pannonians were speaking different language to Illyrian's proper, then it was of the same branch, like bulgarian is to slovenian, etc.
Also, the grugni paper mentions both elevated J2b and EV13 in zones of Illyrian colonization, so until we have more higher resolution knowledge, its possible that
E-CTS1273 clades were also present in the east-west adriatic movements.
With respect to the Thracian languages, they are either some proto-baltoidic shifted languages, or according to Hamp's late position, some southeastern Germanic branch languages. I personally think the baltoidic scenario is more probable, and for me R1a makes sense as a Thracian lineage, as culturally also they seem to have similarities with other IE R1a cultures. If EV13 was among thracians, as its probable that certain clades were, I am still of the opinion that they must have been culturally assimilated by R1a's.
The distribution of E-CTS1273 all over albanian speaking peoples, both Tosk & Gege to me makes sense more that it belonged to the "Illyrian-proper" complex, while J2b2-L283 and
PH1246 which have a North-West distribution among Albanian people most likely belonged to the "Delmato-Pannonian" complex. As I said before, I think they spoke either the same language or a very close one, but they were part of a different geographic and cultural complex.
So when the inland contrast of E-CTS1273 is mentioned, it is done in this simplified manner to skip the "Illyrian-Proper" speakers and go straight from the coast to thracians, which I think doesn't hold up.
Linguistically, the Moesians were Thracians, while the Dardanians were Illyrians, I personally don't think there is a Dardanian-Moesian substrate.
Also with respect to the transportation of basal EV13 clades to the east, Balkan Mysians, Dardanians, and Brygians were in Troy around the Trojan war which is dated around 1300-1200 BC, and the archaeological culture shows movement of material around this time from western balkans and even hungary if I recall correct, so its possible even at this time or earlier, from when Dardanus himself founded the trojan lineage according to myths (probably just a legendary remnant of some dardanian migration to troy).
Likewise I think Zef Mirdita considered the Pirustae an Illyrian tribe and not a Delmatian one, he even wondered whether Romans had simply translated "Darda (pear)" into Latin. "Pirus" (pear). The Dardanian mines were renowned by Romans, and "metallici Dardanicae" or something along the lines of that was found even in Israel, so its not far fetched to assume a pre-Roman mining tradition that invading Romans then utilized. The Dardanian mines of Damastion were used around the time of King Bardylis for example.