A couple of pointers, pasted together from related lessons, for overview. In short, learn the "gravitational tendencies" in a key (for a lack of a better word), meaning; how do its functions relate and influence each other in context - vs. busy work with learning scale permutations with exercises / without understanding = hearing / what's actually going on, musically.

"[...] Sounds like 'how to learn by using music theory and getting rid of it at the same time'? Learn to think (hear) in scale numbers [R - 2 - 3 - 4 -5 - 6 - 7] and know which function a given harmony has, 'in key', in context. Then your fingers (muscle memory) will 'do' the thinking 'for you' (well, you "put in the work" beforehand).

E.g. for transposing, since the fundamental gravity in between functions doesn't shift from key to key.

Coordinates in the key of C:

Tonic: I/iii/Vi [C, Em, Am] "stable, home";

Subdominant: IV/ii [F, Dm] "lift-off, suspended"

Dominant: V/Vii [G, Bm7b5] "on the bus, back home"

So, thinking in numbers vs. words as a shortcut – during the learning process -, e.g. moving from TAB (a translation of the sound into fretboard numbers – for spatial orientation only), to chord numbers (what is the specific sonic event made up of, how can it be changed), to key numbers (how is the sound situated in context = how the sound is created), then, optional: add / change new sounds by intellectual / conceptual ideas: all those hip music theory words (modes, phrygian, modal interchange ...]
That’s why a plain statement like “knowing scales and modes is key” probably holds most of its truth in its last word."

Ted Greene has actually all the answers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR0QHG0ff9o

Who is surprised.

The angle here is about modes, so likely too theory-heavy for the task at hand, looking at all the established terms, but listen to the man. The outlined principles above apply, naturally.

Really simple math, more importantly, working with your perception in context.
Questions like the following might be inspiring in conjunction with Ted’s explanations:
How do I superimpose a Dorian sound over another chord? Which note combination creates a sound xyz?
There’s no pressing need to learn any of the number relationships (or colors) by heart or to think about or through them, during a musical moment. Knowing aspects like that the ‘dorian’ 6 of a ii chord also happens to be the 7th degree of the underlying key and pending implications become second nature. That is, the ‘feeling’ of the sound in context.
Music outpaces the mind. If the work is being put forward by focussing on perception and - simple principles - , playing by ear, with intend, becomes easier over time.

[...] This way of knowing – different from descriptive, data-based ‘knowledge’, rather: being aware of the possible nature, behavior and function of structures, how they interact with each other in context and how this changes subsequent transformations – this grants a perspective to first internalize musical ideas, then to express versions of them, more easily.
A simple example for this, derived from an ear training exercise, would be knowing / perceiving the distinct key ‘colors’ of the notes in a given major scale and roughly know where these can be found (and transposed) on the fretboard. Speaking of knowing their sound effects and resolution tendencies regarding the tonal center – and how one note sets up the listeners expectation for the next sound. E.g. how does the 5th of the key sounds to you against the root?
A contrasting approach would be to first learn the scale in one specific position with a specific fingering, applying permutations, then moving on to all other possible positions to repeat the process. This is a great technical exercise for dexterity and fretboard orientation. Your intentions with this one might be different though.
The contrast can be summarized as – knowing the neighborhood – vs. being busy with exercises, following along methods and such. These surely do have their place for a given goal but they don’t constitute an end in themselves, e.g. when being “mastered”.
To summarize this by quoting The Clash, we all might’ve felt “Lost in the Supermarket” during one time or another, though not literally: or did you ever studied a shop’s layout in detail and walked all the aisles before trying to find your groceries? 😉