Fix handling of metadata and Python resolution #1774

Job	Run time
Downstream builds with Python 3.8	45s
CLI responsiveness with latest Python	3m 12s
Downstream builds with Python 3.9	1m 0s
Downstream builds with Python 3.10	56s
Python 3.8 on Linux	4m 19s
Downstream builds with Python 3.11	54s
Python 3.9 on Linux	4m 0s
Downstream builds with Python 3.12	1m 6s
Python 3.10 on Linux	4m 28s
Python 3.11 on Linux	4m 3s
Python 3.12 on Linux	5m 11s
Python 3.8 on Windows	8m 35s
Python 3.9 on Windows	9m 44s
Python 3.10 on Windows	8m 16s
Python 3.11 on Windows	7m 48s
Python 3.12 on Windows	8m 20s
Python 3.8 on macOS	4m 11s
Python 3.9 on macOS	7m 48s
Python 3.10 on macOS	3m 57s
Python 3.11 on macOS	4m 14s
Python 3.12 on macOS	5m 10s
Report coverage	38s
check	3s
	1h 38m 38s

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