I apparently missed that step when I was setting it up and installing and now I am weeks into my setup and I finally rebooted my phone and realized the bootloader is still unlocked.
Or is the Pixel 7 bootloader not relockable?
So I guess the question is, can I lock it without losing everything or can I lock it at all?
Yes it can be relocked. Put it back in fastboot mode and connect to a computer and issue this command:
fastboot flashing lock
But, by design, anytime you lock or unlock it will perform a reset of userdata so is effectively a “Factory Reset” and you will need to setup as if a new installation. Seedvault (from “System Settings”) can aide a lot, but won’t get everything. So use it for convenience but have all your important data saved outside of it as well for safety.
well crap. i was afraid you’d say that. I have backups, but i’d need to set them all up again. 
guess that’ll be after my road trip this weekend.
Yes it is a bit of a hassle, but if you take a few notes of the migration then next time will be smoother, and the time after that “even smoother smoother” 
Regarding not seeing the prompt to lock when you installed, did you install with the graphical installer or with the “manual process” using fastboot? Both should have prompted you on the device screen to lock or not, so am a bit curious how this didn’t get triggered?
I thought of it as an experiment, was deciding between iode, eos, graphene…and more importantly, I did not realize it would wipe the phone if I did it later.
I figured it would just be insecure until I did it
Discussing about bootloaders locking or not, are as old as there is a possibility to lock them. This will be an issue for a president or boss of a large company, or politician. I don’t see it very critically for ordinary use. In order to successfully use an open bootloader, you definitely need physical access.
Iodé is spoofing the Bootloader, Apps see’s the Bootloader closed. You are not really insecure.
But yes, a closed bootloader gives a better feeling.
If I would have known that before the install (locking), I would have not locked the bootloader. Good to know for the nexxttime.