Thanks for the questions... hopefully this will help.

1) any easy way to locate only the new sounds added? (like, filter them out, I'd like to know how many were added and try them out otherwise I might miss them)

There are 52 New Performances... from the HOME screen
Press [CATEGORY SEARCH]
With “Bank/Favorite” = Preset
Type in “NY Jam” in the box with the magnifying glass.
Press [ENTER]
Select “NY Jam Sesh” — That is the first of the 52 (it has a Pattern associated with it, just FYI)
You can increment through the Performances to “Wired” the last of the newly added Performances.

These are listed in the new Data List booklet starting at the bottom of page 20, Number: 2656
The last one “Wired” is #2707

2) any easy way to undo/delete sequencer recording after it's done w/o more menu diving? or shortcuts to function "execute quantize" and "wipe/clear everything"? would be helpful.
Also about the sequencer I see a box shortcut press shift + key to erase but I couldn't figure out which key, I even tried the keyboard keys to no avail 🙁 maybe there's an in depth tutorial from YAMAHA on the new pattern mode alone detailing everything (I'm not a manual guy and the original paper manual I've got back in late 2018 doesn't include it anyway)

If you’re not a “manual guy” then you’re probably not into reading answers in posts either. Videos will be coming soon.

For those that do read, the Supplementary Manual (included with the firmware Operating System has some new details).
OS Update 3.0 adds 43 pages to the documentation.

There are several ways to undo/delete a Sequencer Recording.
_ Once you have recorded data into a Pattern, pressing Record again you are offered a REC TYPE parameter. If set to “REPLACE” (instead of “Overdub”), your previous recorded data will be wiped out when you press Play. If you recorded a Track and you hate it, simply REPLACE it. No need to erase or delete it. This is the quickest way to redo a bad Track.
_ If you want to Undo your last Recording or your last Edit, touch “EDIT/JOB” > “Overview” > tap the box “Undo last media”

Let’s say you are recording drums and you attempt a Hihat thing using F#1, G#1 and A#1... but it’s terrible. You want to be able to surgically erase just the Hihats but keep the kick and snare you’ve already recorded...
If while still in Record you hold [SHIFT] + hold the three black keys that are the Hihats, you will be erasing them as the Pattern Loops. “Hold” is the word most people miss... hold [SHIFT] and the offending keys at the same time... as it cycles around.
Notice when you press [SHIFT] the box with “Erase” instructions has a box that turns green (active) this means if you touch that “Erase” box you don’t have to hold [SHIFT]... while it is green you can simply hold down the offending keys.

Hold them through one complete loop cycle and they are all gone. Tap the green Erase box to return to normal.

Additionally, there is an “Edit/Job” that will Clear the entire Track, or All Tracks

Shortcut to Quantize: (there are tutorials coming that will go over this in detail). You can Quantize as you Record, you can Quantize non-destructively after recording using the “Play FX” (both straight and swing Quantize are available) being non-destructive this lets you try out different Quantize setting before applying it (if you wish) by “Normalizing Play FX” which destructively rewrites the Track data.

You can apply Quantize in real time, changing the groove from straight to a shuffle and back. The same kind of Play FX that work for Arp Phrases can now be applied to your own custom recorded data, and then some.

3) I'm controlling the big knob using a pedal, but I noticed (even in v2.5) that when I switch sounds I have to move my foot to the position of the current super knob setting for it to pick it up from there... so it's actually really tedious since sometimes I have to move my foot all the way back and foward again just to get to the position I want. Any way for the Super knob to just jump to the current foot setting when switching between sounds? this would be MUCHO helpful

It might be easier on your foot, but having it “jump to the current foot setting” would not be a really good solution sonically/musically. It would defeat being able to decide where the Super Knob should be Stored initially.

Example, the very first Performance (0001) “CFX + FM EP” morphs an acoustic piano to the electric piano. When recalled the Super Knob is stored at minimum position, acoustic piano. You are worried that to to recall the electric piano you have to open the pedal to “grab” or “hook” the Super Knob so that you can move it toward maximum where the FM-X electric piano lives.

If that is a clumsy move for your foot... here are some things to try...
_ Try toeing the back end of the pedal - instead of awkwardly attempting the heel down move. A quick toe to the near end of the FC this flips it open to minimum
_ Try touching the button labeled “2” above and just to the right of the Super Knob, it defaults to sending the Super Knob to maximum (or any value you determine) per Performance.
_ Try moving the Super Knob by hand to match where your Foot Controller is set. Saves your ankle.
_ From the Home screen, touch “Motion Control” > Super Knob > move the Super Knob to the position you would want it to be for this Performance... STORE this to your User version of the Performance.

Hope that helps.
Remember, any of the Performances can be customized for your personal use. If minimum to maximum presents too wide a move, if the default position of the Super Knob works for you in a different position, reprogram the Performance so that it suits your needs. That is what your USER and LIBRARY Bank locations are for (there are 5,760 such locations — it is highly recommended that you use them...)

Do not let original manual content dictate what's available to you. Every firmware release comes bundled with a "New Features" document denoted by "nf" in the filename and "en" for English. The "new features" document serves as an appendix to the user or reference manual.

Thank you Bad Mister you don't realize how helpful your post has been to me.
Although I don't know why you would assume I won't read it since you don't know me.

In all fairness, you did write "I'm not a manual guy" 😉

Select “NY Jam Sesh” — That is the first of the 52 (it has a Pattern associated with it, just FYI)

Where is this pattern data located? I saw in ine of the videos that NY Jam Sesh had pattern data, but couldn't find any when I updated, so I reckoned it was made for the video. But now I've seen references to this in two posts. My 128 patterns were all named NewPattern1-128, and looks to be empty.

Select “NY Jam Sesh” — That is the first of the 52 (it has a Pattern associated with it, just FYI)

Where is this pattern data located? I saw in ine of the videos that NY Jam Sesh had pattern data, but couldn't find any when I updated, so I reckoned it was made for the video. But now I've seen references to this in two posts. My 128 patterns were all named NewPattern1-128, and looks to be empty.

I did not find the pattern data. But you can use the audition button and then it will play pretty much what was in the video...

Patterns can have 8 sections, each section is contained on a Scene button while accessing the Pattern function... these Pattern Scenes can then be “chained” to make a linear structure and then converted to a Song... Data in your Song Folder then can be converted into Audition Phrases. Once converted (copied) to Audition Phrases they remain as a permanent part of that Performance (independent from the data in the Song Folder). That is what has been done to the demo Pattern data... it has been installed in the Factory data with these 5 Performances (listed below).

You can create your own User Audition Phrases... which takes the contents of your Song Folder and converts it so it is accessible as an assignable Audition Phrase.

New feature: “Audition Loop” On/Off is found in [UTILITY] > “Settings” > “Advance”. When set to Off, the Audition Phase plays thru once and stops, rather than beginning again.

The New Performances that were used to create the demonstration Patterns are
“Copy”
“Space is Fine”
“NY Jam Sesh”
“My Ballad”
“Out West”

Press [AUDITION] to hear the data.

We will stress this point: there is no one way to use the Pattern Play/Rec feature.