Even if you have all that, you still need to trust that the data was collected as described and without any hidden biasing effects – so, again, you're trusting

Even if you have all that, you still need to trust that the data was collected as described and without any hidden biasing effects – so, again, you're trusting the authority of the author(s)... It's turtles all the way down, in some ways, but I don't disagree with you – code and data are a critical first step and they enable both the verification of findings and better chances at accurately testing the verifiability of the research. It's much better to go out and get your own data and compare apples to apples with the same analytic process (assuming you agree with the analytic process which you should assess even before collecting data, but I digress...)