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I am understanding 太……了 to mean "really/very/too/excessively"
I don't get the sense 了 is either a completed-action or a sentence-end change-of-state - would this be right to assume? If yes/no, how/why?
To follow on, why then sometimes is 了 not required?
了 can act as a final particle that:
indicates a sentence is 'completed'
acts as a modal word (express different emotions depend on the tone of speech)
Example:
这人太蠢 doesn't sound like the sentence is completed, we would expect a follow-up like 这人太蠢，怎么学也学不会 or 这人太蠢，竟然不知我在讽刺他
了 in 这人太蠢了 can:
indicates it is a complete sentence: all you want to say is 'he is very foolish' e.g. 怎么学也学不会，这人太蠢了
acts as a modal word: e.g. it displeases you (with a blunt tone); it surprises you (with a high tone); it disappoints you (with a low tone)
了 in '这人太蠢了，怎么学也学不会' doesn't indicate the sentence has ended, only serves as a modal word, which can be omitted
This dictionary definition addresses the use of 了:
用在句尾或句中停顿的地方，表示感叹的语气.
E.g. 太好了。
