Sorry but the premise of this is bollocks. An atom moving between quantum energy states is in a superposition of the "before" and "after" states for some finite

Sorry but the premise of this is bollocks. An atom moving between quantum energy states is in a superposition of the "before" and "after" states for some finite time which is related to the energy of transition. Just because that superposition was never observed does not mean it was thought not to exist.