6.7 Engine Operating Modes (EOM) are as follows:
EOM0- normal (in this mode 80% of the time, normal driving)
EOM1- Particulate Filter Regen 1 (regen warmup)
EOM2- Particulate Filter Regen 2 (active regen, closed-loop temp based Post2
injection)
EOM3- Partially homogeneous combustion (De-Sox, "sulphur regen")
EOM4- NSC Regen (Nox Storage Converter Regeneration, "De-Nox)
Most tuning will be done in EOM0. For on-road calibrations, be careful when tuning EOM1 through 4. It's important to add WOT fueling (through the torque to quantity conversions) to maintain power during regen states, but messing with timing and turbocharger controls can cause malfunctions or damage to the after-treatment system. You need to be very sure of what you are doing before making changes to those areas. For race tuning, the truck will remain in EOM0 if everything is calibrated properly.
As far as the base tables, such as tables labeled "Bas0", "Bas1", "Bas2", etc, those tables are selected by temperature and atmosphere conditions. Three things can affect this- ambient temperature, ambient pressure, and coolant (engine) temperature. There are other underlying tables that lay out these conditions (which are modifiable), but chances are you won't find them in MCC or SCT software. For most intents and purposes, these tables are coolant temperature based. "Very Cold" conditions (below -10) would fall into base 3 or 4, and rise through the operating range to base 0. Most tuning is done in base 0 and sometimes base 1. Below this is usually best left stock, for cold drivability purposes.
Configuration mode based tables depend on what injection events are currently active (pre injections 1 and 2, main, post injections, etc) and are defined by other underlying maps. Most performance gains will be seen configurations 1 and 2, sometimes 3 and 4.
One thing I'll pick apart concerning the linked articles, is starting with injection timing. I disagree. With the 6.7, torque limitations need to be removed first, then fueling and air, then timing. The amount of tolerance these engines have for injection timing is very dependant on overall fuel flow and boost pressures.
As far as unit conversions, it's correct that SCT left the units in metric (as it should be). Trying to convert back and forth is quite cumbersome, as torque beast has run into in the other thread. All OEM tuning is done in metric units, and if the software you are using is selectable between the two, I'd highly recommend sticking to metric.