Catching up in this long conversation. Don’t know if has been mentioned yet, but you should use this instead of silencing noises in the pauses:
https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/punch-copy-paste/28906/1
Use edit, preferences, keyboard to assign a key to the pasting effect so that it is as easy as ctrl-L, and then, do not use ctrl-L.
It is undesirable to have any intervals of absolute silence. Rather, it is desirable to have some room tone and have it consistent. Drops from room tone to silence might be noticeable and seem unnatural.