Hey John,
even though you are not migrating from OH2, you might find this guide quite helpful to get started in general: Migration from OH 1.x to OH 2 Tutorial (also maybe interesting: Add step by step instructions and lessons learned to Migration from 1.x tutorial · Issue #86 · openhab/openhab-docs · GitHub)
I seem to remember there was a problem like this with the GPIO binding. This is something we/I/others should investigate further. What I can tell you however is, that no other binding known to me creates such problems.
Do you have other devices and/or bindings you would like to include? I think you will have a better time with Astro, MQTT, Network, Kodi or many of the other popular bindings in the beginning.
I did not get what you are trying to do in the end. You got openHABian as your base and should henceforth not need to do anything on the console! If you can access the webpage and the samba share, you are good to go.
One last small setback, please read: openHABian hassle-free openHAB Setup - #285 - you can either wait till this problem is solved or do the fix posted a few comments later.
I’ll let you answer to the said and can help with the next steps, based on your answers.
Btw. I’m looking for people willing to contribute to the documentation. We know it’s not perfect and we are trying to do something about that! You can help by making suggestions, drawing diagrams, writing text or (if you are by any chance a web developer) by helping with css.
Best! Thomas