Hey, @NevTD!
Thanks so much for the reply! Yes, you understood what I am after perfectly. I am making filters that will take in a jpg and spit out another seamless jpg. So yes, as you put it, I will "add a bitmap, connect it to the transform node and then render the output". Exactly.
Ok the steps you outlined at the bottom appear to be exactly what I needed to know. I couldn't seem to figure out the difference between baking, cooking, and rendering, lol, and also I didn't realize I needed to save an sbsar file first. I will try that. Thanks again!!!