Page view mode and node settings I have been creating new view modes with the entity view mode module as well as created template files for the new view modes.

At this point I would like to know how I tell a given page or url (ie. front page) which view mode of a particular content type to use
You can create a view and go to Format section and display it as content then select the view mode you want. After that go to  admin/config/system/site-information and change the Default front page to the view that you have created.