I want my "kid" to have a family home that he knows and can come back to for the rest of his life. That requires good credit to be approved for a mortgage that WON'T drop me into debt. I want to be able to have reliable transportation at all times without having to drop a ridiculous amount of money every month should I ever need to replace my current car.

Wanting a forever family home and wanting a good/reliable car has more to do with your income and savings than it does about your credit score. Also, these are wants, not needs. Yes it's nice to have the same house to come home to for the next 16 years. But it's not the end of the world if you have to move every 4-5 years into a different rental unit.

I want both of those things done in a timely manner so that I can save money and help my son get into whatever college he needs to achieve his goals.

Make sure you take care of your retirement funds first. Your "child" can borrow money to go to college. You can't borrow money to retire.

I don't want good credit for "basic living expenses" or "super cool toys." I want it for quality of life and emergencies.

Credit shouldn't be used for emergencies. An emergency fund is what you want for emergencies.