Sapperkenno, I have studied Part 61 all the way through - hence me quoting some of the relevant sections. As is often the case with regulations though, they can be ambiguous. 61.56 defines the flight review but 61.41 accepts training given overseas by a foreign instructor.
I don't see anywhere in the regulations that says a 'flight review' does not qualify as 'flight instruction'? In EASA-land both get logged as PUT, I don't know about FAA-land. Sadly in this day and age pilots and instructors need to be barrack-room lawyers otherwise we will get driven from pillar to post even more than we are already.
Your suggestion of asking the FAA direct makes eminent sense but, in my experience, it is always a good idea to have read and digested the regs before talking to the Regulator.
Does anybody have the right FAA contact for such a query?