black screen in Catalina

Well everyone, if you need the solution, it's possible. It's just worst-case scenario.

I can confirm that IF YOU HAVE A CURRENT TIME MACHINE BACKUP from pre-Catalina install, this problem can be fixed by doing a clean install of macOS 10.15 Catalina on a freshly formatted drive. This requires you to install macOS 10.15, set up the machine as a new computer, and then use Migration Assistant to transfer your old user data back into your machine. To follow this process:

1. Make sure you have a working Time Machine backup from before your macOS Catalina install - DO NOT PROCEED IF YOU DON'T, or you will lose your data
2. Boot into recovery mode by powering on the machine and holding Command ⌘ + R
3. Use Disk Utility in Recovery Mode to reformat (erase) your system ("Macintosh HD", or whatever you named it) drive or the container that hosts the system drive and "data" drive.
4. Select the appropriate file format for your machine's needs (seek other articles to find this out)
5. Close Disk Utility after complete, and use the "Reinstall macOS" feature of Recovery Mode to reinstall 10.15
6. Allow the process to complete
7. Set up the machine as if it were a brand new device - don't transfer your data in this process
8. Verify that your new install of macOS 10.15 Catalina is no longer exhibiting the wake/sleep issues
9. Use Migration Assistant in the Utilities folder to transfer your user data back from your Time Machine backup to your fresh install of macOS - OR, if you prefer, take this opportunity to start "fresh" and only transfer back the specific data that you think you'd like to keep.

This is the most complete and time consuming way this could be resolved, but the issue has been solved for me. It must be caused by some sort of user-land kext or daemon, or something that is changed by performing a clean macOS 10.15 install and then transferring your user data.

NOTE: Only do this is you had the forethought to have a working and complete backup with Time Machine prior to installing macOS Catalina. I cannot stress this enough if you are new at this...

Good luck, and godspeed!