David:

My point is not to support everything "tradition" says. If you check my The Missing Gospels, where I discuss this issue in detail, you will see that I am singling out for attention major teachings that are rooted at all of these levels in these materials. In addition, all of this material predates Roman Catholicism, which does not emerge until we get to the single bishop idea (read Pope) long after the second century. 

The issue is what did the church(es) teach before there was a functioning New Testament. We know such a period existed and we can know and see that teaching of core doctrine took place and was consciously passed on. The issues you raise are not as core or as widely attested in the earleist period we are considering (namely, before Irenaeus).