I have some info from Josh @ Phantom that really helped me to understand everything. While I now know that I got ripped off by an un-named breeder at least I have the knowledge to move forward now. So here is the quote from the email on the leatherback lines.
"Basically, all the italian and american leathers are a visual het for silkback. You get the exact same ratios with them as you would with het trans and het hypos.
There are 3 types of leatherbacks:
1).Italian(allessandros line) codominant
2).american(AC reptiles line) codominant aka: american smoothie
3).recessive(my skeletor line)
Recessive leatherbacks only have a smooth torso. The rest of their body is spiney. When the recessive and codominant lines are combined, the end result is a leather with a super smooth(almost papery thin) torso, and the rest of the body is regular leatherback scales.
American smoothie and italian leatherback causes way too much confusion. Thats why I have been calling american smoothie american leatherback. They both do the same thing, and are compatible with each other."
I was a bit confused because people kept referring to a "visual het" well that just means that they are a leatherback. A leatherback is a visual form of the silkback gene. Silkback and normal scales are both codominant genes. Which means that if you cross them they both show up. White flower and Red Flower = Pink Flower! Hazaaa I got it!