“Is it a chiyuv to learn Gemorah w/o any relation to acquiring the know how to practice halachos properly; yes or no?”
I don’t know why it would be. There is a lot of other torah that can be learned: Chumash, Nach, Ketuvim, Machshevah, Midrash….all fulfill the mitzvah of talmud torah.
I think most would argue that knowing the halachic sources in the gemara does enable one to understand the halachah better.