diff --git a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/executor-planner-lanes-resolved.test.ts b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/executor-planner-lanes-resolved.test.ts
index ea72a5563e..dc8b6d53d1 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/executor-planner-lanes-resolved.test.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/executor-planner-lanes-resolved.test.ts
@@ -87,43 +87,18 @@ function completedTaskIn(column: string) {
   };
 }
 
-/**
- * @param syncResolvesIr Feed the SYNC reader the test's IR instead of the default lineage.
- *
- * Default is `false`, which mirrors production: the sync reader answers with the DEFAULT workflow for
- * every task, whatever the card is bound to. Pass `true` ONLY for cases exercising a classifier that
- * is still synchronous — there the sync reader is genuinely the input path, so feeding it the IR
- * tests the classifier's logic rather than the (separately tracked) fact that the reader does not
- * resolve. Those classifiers live in the synchronous `task:moved` listener; converting them needs a
- * restructure of that handler's else-if chain, and their production inertness is held by the
- * `resolveTaskWorkflowIrSync` call-site allow-list.
- */
-function harness(ir: WorkflowIr | undefined, column: string, syncResolvesIr = false) {
+function harness(ir: WorkflowIr | undefined, column: string) {
   const store = createMockStore();
   let task: Record<string, unknown> = completedTaskIn(column);
   const moves: Array<[string, string]> = [];
 
   /*
-  FNXC:WorkflowLifecycleColumns 2026-07-31-23:10 (the sync seam could not see production):
-  THE AUTHORITATIVE READERS, not just the sync one.
-
-  This harness injected ONLY `resolveTaskWorkflowIrSync`, so every case here proved the promotion
-  LOGIC while being structurally blind to whether production resolves anything at all. It does not:
-  that reader's selection lookup returns `undefined` unconditionally in PostgreSQL mode, so the real
-  call site resolved the DEFAULT workflow for every card and the recovery never fired on a renamed
-  board — with this suite green.
-
-  Feeding the async readers makes the suite exercise the path the call site now takes. The sync
-  reader stays wired so a revert to it is visible as a failure here rather than as silence.
+  FNXC:WorkflowResolvedColumns 2026-08-01-02:07 REDUNDANT:
+  Deleting the complete sync-resolver assignment and running
+  `pnpm --filter @fusion/engine exec vitest run src/__tests__/executor-planner-lanes-resolved.test.ts --silent=passed-only --reporter=dot`
+  passed 12/12. The harness's async selection and definition readers supply the production path;
+  its direct classifier cases already pass explicit move lanes, so no sync fixture is required.
   */
-  /*
-  The sync reader returns the DEFAULT lineage, which is what it ACTUALLY does in production for every
-  task regardless of binding. Handing it the test's `ir` — as this harness used to — is the part that
-  made the suite unable to tell a resolved answer from an unresolved one: it fed the broken reader the
-  right answer. With this, reverting the call site to the sync resolver fails these cases.
-  */
-  (store as unknown as { resolveTaskWorkflowIrSync: (id: string) => WorkflowIr })
-    .resolveTaskWorkflowIrSync = () => (syncResolvesIr ? (ir as WorkflowIr) : (BUILTIN_CODING_WORKFLOW_IR as unknown as WorkflowIr));
   const workflowId = (ir as { id?: string } | undefined)?.id ?? "builtin:coding";
   store.getTaskWorkflowSelectionAsync = vi.fn(async () => (ir ? { workflowId, stepIds: [] } : undefined));
   store.getWorkflowDefinition = vi.fn(async () => (ir ? { ir } : undefined));
@@ -154,7 +129,7 @@ function harness(ir: WorkflowIr | undefined, column: string, syncResolvesIr = fa
 
 describe("stranded-completed recovery promotes through the task's OWN planner lanes", () => {
   it("re-homes intake -> hold -> wip on a renamed board that separates the two roles", async () => {
-    const h = harness(RENAMED_SPLIT_IR, "backlog", true);
+    const h = harness(RENAMED_SPLIT_IR, "backlog");
 
     const recovered = await h.executor.recoverCompletedTask(completedTaskIn("backlog") as never);
 
@@ -268,7 +243,7 @@ describe("a forward move off a renamed planner lane is not an evacuation", () =>
   it("does NOT evacuate a card advancing into the renamed wip/review/complete lanes", () => {
     // Pre-fix each of these returned true, so the executor aborted live planning work and
     // deleted the pre-execution worktree of a card that was merely advancing.
-    const h = harness(RENAMED_SPLIT_IR, "backlog", true);
+    const h = harness(RENAMED_SPLIT_IR, "backlog");
 
     expect(isBackward(h, "backlog", "building", RENAMED_SPLIT_IR)).toBe(false);
     expect(isBackward(h, "queued", "checking", RENAMED_SPLIT_IR)).toBe(false);
@@ -278,7 +253,7 @@ describe("a forward move off a renamed planner lane is not an evacuation", () =>
   it("DOES evacuate a card withdrawn to a non-lifecycle column", () => {
     // The paired positive: the branch must still fire for the case it was written for
     // (the reported symptom was todo -> Ideas).
-    const h = harness(RENAMED_SPLIT_IR, "backlog", true);
+    const h = harness(RENAMED_SPLIT_IR, "backlog");
 
     expect(isBackward(h, "backlog", "ideas", RENAMED_SPLIT_IR)).toBe(true);
   });
@@ -293,7 +268,7 @@ describe("a forward move off a renamed planner lane is not an evacuation", () =>
   });
 
   it("never fires for a card that was not in a planner lane", () => {
-    const h = harness(RENAMED_SPLIT_IR, "building", true);
+    const h = harness(RENAMED_SPLIT_IR, "building");
 
     expect(isBackward(h, "building", "ideas", RENAMED_SPLIT_IR)).toBe(false);
   });
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/planner-lane-resolution.test.ts b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/planner-lane-resolution.test.ts
index c0abf9b4c9..54dd1fc0c9 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/planner-lane-resolution.test.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/planner-lane-resolution.test.ts
@@ -27,12 +27,11 @@ function storeWith(ir: WorkflowIr | null): TaskStore {
     getTaskWorkflowSelectionAsync: vi.fn(async () => selection),
     getWorkflowDefinition: vi.fn(async () => (ir ? { ir } : null)),
     /*
-    FNXC:WorkflowResolvedColumns 2026-07-31-23:59:
-    The `resolveTaskWorkflowIrSync` stub is REMOVED, and it was redundant: this suite passes without
-    it. That reader answers with the DEFAULT board for every task in production, so stubbing it with a
-    working IR feeds the broken reader the right answer — the suite would keep passing even if its
-    call site stopped resolving. Audited across the 8 files that stubbed it (#3197): four were
-    redundant like this one, one is legitimately about the sync path, one was masking real inertness.
+    FNXC:WorkflowResolvedColumns 2026-08-01-02:07 REDUNDANT:
+    The `resolveTaskWorkflowIrSync` stub remains removed. Re-running
+    `pnpm --filter @fusion/engine exec vitest run src/__tests__/planner-lane-resolution.test.ts --silent=passed-only --reporter=dot`
+    passed 7/7. It was redundant because the async readers resolve the test workflow without it.
+    FN-8648's corrected tally is six redundant, one deliberate DEFAULT-IR contrast, one masking site.
     */
   } as unknown as TaskStore;
 }
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/planner-lanes-async-resolution.test.ts b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/planner-lanes-async-resolution.test.ts
index 48130cf6c1..31d8c17b88 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/planner-lanes-async-resolution.test.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/planner-lanes-async-resolution.test.ts
@@ -49,7 +49,14 @@ function createStore(): TaskStore {
     getTaskWorkflowSelection: vi.fn(() => undefined),
     getTaskWorkflowSelectionAsync: vi.fn(async () => selection),
     getWorkflowDefinition: vi.fn(async () => ({ ir: RENAMED_IR })),
-    /* Mirrors the real sync resolver's contract: no selection → the DEFAULT workflow IR. */
+    /*
+    FNXC:WorkflowResolvedColumns 2026-08-01-02:07 DELIBERATE-SYNC:
+    Removing this production-faithful DEFAULT-IR stub and running
+    `pnpm --filter @fusion/engine exec vitest run src/__tests__/planner-lanes-async-resolution.test.ts --silent=passed-only --reporter=dot`
+    produced 1 failed / 3 passed: the named SYNC contrast no longer reported
+    `resolvedFromWorkflow: true`. The stub intentionally proves that an inert sync read can look
+    resolved, while the authoritative async reader returns the renamed workflow.
+    */
     resolveTaskWorkflowIrSync: vi.fn(() => BUILTIN_DEFAULT_IR),
   } as unknown as TaskStore;
 }
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/recover-approved-intake-post-u11.test.ts b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/recover-approved-intake-post-u11.test.ts
index b19ff0ecf2..15e71b8ff2 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/recover-approved-intake-post-u11.test.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/recover-approved-intake-post-u11.test.ts
@@ -100,12 +100,11 @@ function createStore(task: Task, workflowIr: WorkflowIr): TaskStore {
     conversion does not work" rather than "the fake is incomplete".
     */
     /*
-    FNXC:WorkflowResolvedColumns 2026-07-31-23:59:
-    The `resolveTaskWorkflowIrSync` stub is REMOVED, and it was redundant: this suite passes without
-    it. That reader answers with the DEFAULT board for every task in production, so stubbing it with a
-    working IR feeds the broken reader the right answer — the suite would keep passing even if its
-    call site stopped resolving. Audited across the 8 files that stubbed it (#3197): four were
-    redundant like this one, one is legitimately about the sync path, one was masking real inertness.
+    FNXC:WorkflowResolvedColumns 2026-08-01-02:07 REDUNDANT:
+    The `resolveTaskWorkflowIrSync` stub remains removed. Re-running
+    `pnpm --filter @fusion/engine exec vitest run src/__tests__/recover-approved-intake-post-u11.test.ts --silent=passed-only --reporter=dot`
+    passed 6/6. It was redundant because the async readers resolve the test workflow without it.
+    FN-8648's corrected tally is six redundant, one deliberate DEFAULT-IR contrast, one masking site.
     */
     getTaskWorkflowSelectionAsync: vi.fn(async () => selection),
     getWorkflowDefinition: vi.fn(async () => ({ ir: workflowIr })),
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/scheduler-renamed-hold-events.test.ts b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/scheduler-renamed-hold-events.test.ts
index 880f5003d2..3d8d3cb01a 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/scheduler-renamed-hold-events.test.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/scheduler-renamed-hold-events.test.ts
@@ -76,6 +76,15 @@ function createStore(tasks: Record<string, unknown>[] = [], ir: WorkflowIr = ren
     getTaskWorkflowSelection: vi.fn(() => selection),
     getTaskWorkflowSelectionAsync: vi.fn(async () => selection),
     getWorkflowDefinition: vi.fn(async () => ({ ir })),
+    /*
+    FNXC:WorkflowResolvedColumns 2026-08-01-02:07 MASKING:
+    Deleting the renamed-IR sync fixture and running
+    `pnpm --filter @fusion/engine exec vitest run src/__tests__/scheduler-renamed-hold-events.test.ts --silent=passed-only --reporter=dot`
+    produced 3 failed / 9 passed: renamed-hold wake, dependency lookup, and second-terminal tests.
+    The fake already supplies the authoritative async selection and IR readers, so this is not an
+    incomplete fake; synchronous scheduler listeners are inert on renamed boards in production.
+    Keep this logic fixture explicit while FN-8656 restructures the synchronous listener safely.
+    */
     resolveTaskWorkflowIrSync: vi.fn(() => ir),
   } as unknown as TaskStore;
 
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/triage-release-renamed-hold.test.ts b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/triage-release-renamed-hold.test.ts
index 2924dd9623..ef1078acb1 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/triage-release-renamed-hold.test.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/triage-release-renamed-hold.test.ts
@@ -145,8 +145,10 @@ function createStore(task: Task, ir: WorkflowIr | null): { store: TaskStore; mov
     getTaskWorkflowSelectionAsync: vi.fn(async () => selection),
     getWorkflowDefinition: vi.fn(async () => (ir ? { ir } : null)),
     /*
-    FNXC:WorkflowResolvedColumns 2026-07-31-23:59:
-    THE SYNC READER STUB IS GONE, and its absence is the point.
+    FNXC:WorkflowResolvedColumns 2026-08-01-02:07 REDUNDANT:
+    THE SYNC READER STUB IS GONE, and its absence is the point. Re-running
+    `pnpm --filter @fusion/engine exec vitest run src/__tests__/triage-release-renamed-hold.test.ts --silent=passed-only --reporter=dot`
+    passed 5/5; its existing mutation check fails 1/4 when the release target reverts to the sync read.
 
     This harness fed `resolveTaskWorkflowIrSync` the test's own IR — the shape this repo's learnings
     call out as feeding the broken reader the right answer. In production that reader answers with the
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/triage-undeclared-column-rescue.test.ts b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/triage-undeclared-column-rescue.test.ts
index 1061cf30d3..5b75837ab9 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/triage-undeclared-column-rescue.test.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/triage-undeclared-column-rescue.test.ts
@@ -106,12 +106,11 @@ function createStore(ir: WorkflowIr, workflowId: string = WF): TaskStore {
     getTaskWorkflowSelectionAsync: vi.fn(async () => selection),
     getWorkflowDefinition: vi.fn(async () => ({ ir })),
     /*
-    FNXC:WorkflowResolvedColumns 2026-07-31-23:59:
-    The `resolveTaskWorkflowIrSync` stub is REMOVED, and it was redundant: this suite passes without
-    it. That reader answers with the DEFAULT board for every task in production, so stubbing it with a
-    working IR feeds the broken reader the right answer — the suite would keep passing even if its
-    call site stopped resolving. Audited across the 8 files that stubbed it (#3197): four were
-    redundant like this one, one is legitimately about the sync path, one was masking real inertness.
+    FNXC:WorkflowResolvedColumns 2026-08-01-02:07 REDUNDANT:
+    The `resolveTaskWorkflowIrSync` stub remains removed. Re-running
+    `pnpm --filter @fusion/engine exec vitest run src/__tests__/triage-undeclared-column-rescue.test.ts --silent=passed-only --reporter=dot`
+    passed 7/7. It was redundant because the async readers resolve the test workflow without it.
+    FN-8648's corrected tally is six redundant, one deliberate DEFAULT-IR contrast, one masking site.
     */
     logEntry: vi.fn(),
   } as unknown as TaskStore;
diff --git a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/triage.test.ts b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/triage.test.ts
index de9810793f..0c2fd3c06a 100644
--- a/packages/engine/src/__tests__/triage.test.ts
+++ b/packages/engine/src/__tests__/triage.test.ts
@@ -7301,23 +7301,14 @@ is NEVER REACHED: `resolvePlannerLanes` reads `resolveTaskWorkflowIrSync`, which
 define, so it returns LEGACY_PLANNER_LANES (`intake: "triage"`) and a `triage` card matches the FIRST
 arm. Every earlier fixture I wrote passed through that short-circuit and proved nothing.
 
-So all three cases below stub `resolveTaskWorkflowIrSync` with the MERGED DEFAULT shape, which is what
-production resolves: `intake` and `hold` both `todo`. That makes the first arm fail for a `triage` card
-and leaves the orphan arm as the only thing deciding the outcome.
+The fixture must instead rely on the authoritative async readers below. A sync fixture made the
+recovery assertion about a mock implementation rather than production's resolved workflow.
 
 The three cases differ ONLY in the workflow readers, so the outcome difference can have no other cause.
 Case B is the positive control: without it, "returns false" is unfalsifiable — every case would pass if
 the arm were dead.
 */
 describe("recoverApprovedTask — the orphan-`triage` arm, with the intake short-circuit disabled", () => {
-  const MERGED_DEFAULT = {
-    version: "v2", id: "builtin:coding", nodes: [], edges: [],
-    columns: [
-      { id: "todo", name: "Planning", traits: [{ trait: "intake" }, { trait: "hold", config: { release: "capacity" } }] },
-      { id: "in-progress", name: "in-progress", traits: [{ trait: "wip", config: { limitSetting: "maxConcurrent" } }] },
-      { id: "done", name: "done", traits: [{ trait: "complete" }] },
-    ],
-  } as never;
   const customIr = (id: string, withTriage: boolean) => ({
     version: "v2", id, nodes: [], edges: [],
     columns: [
@@ -7345,8 +7336,14 @@ describe("recoverApprovedTask — the orphan-`triage` arm, with the intake short
         maxConcurrent: 2, maxWorktrees: 4, pollIntervalMs: 10000,
         groupOverlappingFiles: false, autoMerge: true, requirePlanApproval: true,
       } as Settings),
-      // Production resolves the MERGED default here, so `lanes.intake` is `todo`, not `triage`.
-      resolveTaskWorkflowIrSync: vi.fn(() => MERGED_DEFAULT),
+      /*
+      FNXC:WorkflowResolvedColumns 2026-08-01-02:07 REDUNDANT:
+      Deleting the MERGED-default sync stub and running
+      `pnpm --filter @fusion/engine exec vitest run src/__tests__/triage.test.ts --silent=passed-only --reporter=dot`
+      passed 232/232. The async selection and workflow-definition readers are the production-faithful
+      fixture. Mutation replacing `resolvePlannerLanesForTaskAsync` with `resolvePlannerLanes` in
+      `recoverApprovedTask` produced 1 failed / 231 passed: named case C failed as required.
+      */
       ...workflowReaders,
     } as Partial<TaskStore>);
     return new TriageProcessor(store, root).recoverApprovedTask({