The edges don’t exist in edit mode and if I make auto-smooth any lower (it’s at 40), it looks low poly.
How would I fix this?
You need to have more geometry in that area or you need to flatten out the connecting cutout. You have big flat Ngons but the connecting edges of the cutout is not flat, as a result you will have those artifacts.
When making an object, you need to think about it like attaching sheets of paper to something to give it form. You need many sheets of paper to create a form, an Ngon is like only one sheet of paper and it will compensate by creating creases if it has too many vertices pulling in different directions.
Putting control loops around your cutout and splitting the Ngons into mostly equal sized quads is another way to fix your issue.
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I will try that!
Thank you 
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Sheet of paper analogy is so good. Great explanation!
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