I do think that having a relationship with God is more important than the way I eat though… Almost as if the main thing is to love him, the serving him will roll as a result.
You are certainly correct in saying that developing a relationship with HKB”H is important and perhaps commendable – but it isn’t the ikker of yiddishkeit. There are different levels of Avoidas Hashem: Yirah, Ahavah and Deveikus. Somebody on the madreigah of Yirah isn’t missing the point; he just hasn’t yet hit the higher level of Ahavah or Dveikus.
Your job on this world is to fulfill the Rotzoin Hashem, and the Rotzoin Hashem is to learn Torah and be mekayem the Mitzvos. “Developing a connection” is not a mitzvah in itself. It probably comes as a ???? ???? of Ahavas Hashem, but it isn’t the most important thing in Yiddishkeit.
But it goes further than that as well – you are saying that Dikduk Hamitzvos comes as something secondary to “developing a connection with Hashem”: What would you say if somebody kept Shabbos on Tuesday but got all the hisoirerus and felt close to Hashem? Not keeping Shabbos keHilchoso is almost as bad as keeping Shabbos on Tuesday.