I reinstalled python 2.7.16 as part of the troubleshooting I was doing initially when this issue started but other than that I haven't installed anything else recently. Is there any way to make sure? I remember using 'pip' for something a long while ago.
In regards to non standard app installs, I had to install SoftRAID by disabling the SIP to update the driver in Catalina. Nothing else besides that.