Unable to map fields.

[upsurge911-lgtm]

Problem Statement: I am using n8n v2.1.4 (Self Hosted). I am attempting to update an Airtable node (n8n-nodes-base.airtable v2.1) programmatically via the n8n API. While the GET /workflows call confirms that the JSON contains the correct baseId and tableId (using the __rl resource link format), the Browser UI completely fails to sync these changes.

The Symptom:

The Airtable node shows "Base: Choose..." and "Table: Choose..." even though the values exist in the underlying JSON.
Error message in UI: "No columns found in Airtable. Retry".
It appears that when a node is updated via API, n8n is not triggering the metadata fetch needed to populate the column list, or it is failing to resolve the Resource Link (__rl) to the actual base/table.
What has been tried:

Full Workflow Overwrite: Overwriting the entire workflow JSON with the correct baseId, tableId, and updateFields.
Partial Updates: Using updateNode operations to inject the IDs.
Node Versioning: Ensuring the node is v2.1 to match the n8n instance version.
Autofix: Running n8n_autofix_workflow to resolve expression formatting.
Credential Sync: Confirming that the same airtableTokenApi works perfectly in an AirtableTrigger node in the exact same workflow.
The JSON being pushed (Example):

{
"parameters": {
"authentication": "airtableTokenApi",
"resource": "record",
"operation": "update",
"baseId": { "__rl": true, "mode": "id", "value": "appw8wHpYGNOafOoq" },
"tableId": { "__rl": true, "mode": "id", "value": "tblQbxUL6YJiyXdgq" },
"updateAllFields": false,
"updateFields": {
"fields": [
{ "fieldName": "AI Draft", "fieldValue": "={{ $json.content }}" },
{ "fieldName": "Start Research", "fieldValue": false }
]
}
}
}
Question for the Bot: "How can I force an Airtable node (v2.1) in n8n v2.1.4 to refresh its metadata and accept Resource Link IDs when updated via the API, without having to manually select them in the UI every time?"