fix: phase 9/10 usage ledger, review instrumentation, cost tests, dependency conflicts (#393, #428, #430, #445) - #509

Node.js 20 is deprecated. The following actions target Node.js 20 but are being forced to run on Node.js 24: actions/checkout@v4, actions/setup-python@v5. For more information see: https://github.blog/changelog/2025-09-19-deprecation-of-node-20-on-github-actions-runners/