amachinetech:
Found something close but that sensor was outputting opposite to mine (high when clear and low when obstructed) so a INPUT_PULLUP wouldn't work here like in that case. Your help would be greatly appreciated
That's not true. It doesn't matter WHEN the sensor pulls low the signal, what matters is that it's an open drain (aka open collector) output, so the sensor pulls low the signal, and relies on an external resistor to pull it up (and that external resistor may indeed be the internal pull-up of the Arduino). Whether it pulls low the output when it's blocked or when it's clear is irrelevant for this. That's just relevant to you when reading the output.