This is more of a general question about how jazz guitarists think about what they're doing. I'm a musician (guitarist mostly) coming from a background in both Irish traditional music and Blues / Rock. I consider myself an accomplished musician and have been researching jazz guitar as a whole recently.
looking at a lot of videos and online resources i can see most explanations are reliant around 7th, diminished and then more "colourful" chords like 6th, 9th, 13th and their variations. it's all well and good being able to play these chords but knowing where to do so is a whole other story. i know that understanding the different voicings is very important.
in some scenarios i find myself playing through some melodic lines using these different "jazz" chords I dont keep track of whether or not i'm playing a flat 5 or a sharp 9 etc - this can sound great, it can also sound horrible. in other scenarios i find myself thinking quite deeply into it and this can be more difficult for me to try and comprehend what i'm doing without being distracted by my fingering.
I would really appreciate some insight into how different people get over these different hurdles. I dont want to spend my life playing jazz as it's not my passion, but i do really enjoy it and i'm not quite at the level i want to be to call myself a "jazz guitarist". i only want to progress! :)