isn't there a way to point at a cell and ask whether it is
a number vs a formula. I'd like to use conditional
formatting and have formatting applied to any cell which is
a number and NOT a formula.

But ISNUMBER returns true if the RESULT is a number, not
the input. So for ex: if a1 says =a2+a3 and b1 is 3, I'd
like the result to be false fora1 and true for b1? Is this
possible without VB?

tia,
Dave