I believe when using the API to set the value of a choice column, you cannot use the text value itself but must use a unique ID associated with the value.  (Btw, if it's possible to use the text value, that would be good to know.)  I have found it difficult to find the ID associated with each value. Is there any easy way to obtain this information?

I suggest when you download the choice value to Excel, in addition to the Choice, Color and Image columns, HighQ adds an ID column as well.  That would make it much easier to find the ID.