I guess that's where I'm confused.
Can I just use the rule on the item name line? I have them in CommunityLib and all of that, but guess just figured I would have to write EVERY full essence name in.
I think you're confusing things here.
1) Name your essence tab "Ess Tab"
2) Go to CommunityLib and add "Ess Tab" as a tab you want the plugin to cache
3) Go to AIF -> Stashing and create a new rule. Select Essences in the drop down and in the tab name field type "Ess Tab"
All done!
EDIT: The bot does indeed stash into essence tabs.