Does being a lab tech count as research?
Does being a lab tech count as research? Probably not. Research means making contributions that go beyond the state-of-the-art. Keeping the machines turned on isn't really research. 

But!! Don't sell yourself short. You say that you collect data and "don't do much" with analysis. Do you do anything with analysis? Do you understand the aims of the project? Do you write up the data? Do you discuss the results with anyone? Also, your internship seems like it should have had some research associated with it.

Can you answer "yes" to a yes/no question about having done research? I would say yes -- let the reader decide whether your research "counts" or not. So long as you are clear elsewhere in the application about what you did, you should be fine.