Well, that's not exactly what I want to do. I don't want to confuse the 3DX portion right now, because I'm not using it, at all, presently.
I really just want to be able to use the instance name in assembly context, to delete or rename certain product instances. It's very difficult, though, because when the part and product/component (in an assembly) have the same reference to the instance name, it returns them both in any query or list that I try to return them into. It's a nightmare.
I really just want to know the proper way to get from an instance name, back to its top level owner. So, if a part is dropped into an assemble, it's wrapped up in a product/component, which carries the instance name. But if you look at the properties of the part under the product/component, it ALSO carries the instance name. And even if I search for "Product" when I run my EKL Query or search loop, it still finds the parts. So I always have twice as many objects as I need.
Hope that makes sense. If not, I'll try to clarify further.