Simple question, or is it...

"Way too much info"
Guilty as charged  :)

So, you guys are saying the energy is the signal? What is it that travels down the near lightspeed? Current? the EM wave? Surely not the Poynting vectors, yes? Something must be traveling down the inside of the conductor, otherwise the type of metal, gauge and purity of the conductor wouldn’t matter, yes?

Electric current in the cable is a flow of electric charge. Exactly the same amount of electric charge that leaves the source comes back to it. Energy is delivered from source to load by electromagnetic field in between wires. It is called Poynting field and direction of this electromagnetic wave can be determined by Poynting vector. Presence of the load creates voltage drop - an electric field between wires. Current in the wire creates circular magnetic field around it. These electric and magnetic fields are perpendicular. If you imagine them as X-Y axis then Poynting vector will be perpendicular to them as "Z" axis. This vector points always in the same direction, (from source to load) even with ac current, since both electric and magnetic fields change direction at the same time. In the coax cable, that was mentioned, whole energy (electromagnetic field) flows inside thru dielectric between wire and the shield.

This was one of the few times that when I read it, it made perfect sense, and then it just evaporated into the ether. I swear I almost visualized it. Thanks for that fleeting moment of clarity.

All the best,
Nonoise