Need advice - First time grower

@PurpNGold74 Hey guys, hope you are all ok. I have a question, my gelato is still very short, i mean its like 2.5 inches tall lol! Its still under 4 cfls 23W that they put out 110W each and its about 2 inches away. The very first node is out of control first it turned yellow then white and then it started dying, now half leaf on the first node is gone. The rest looks ok tho.
I moved it outside for now in direct sunlight because i think that was caused by heat (?) might be under watering problem too? Not sure.
Im planning to main line it, but its too little to top it i think, but on the other hand its growing new nodes, i think its on the 5th one right now but still too small and too short to do anything. (not sure which are nodes and which are internodes)
Can you give me some advice please? Should i wait until its more sturdy to do anything to it? Is the discolouration from nutrient deficiencies or heat or under watering? if i do wait will i still be able to top it later? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Here are some pics.

Thank you

That third pic i see the white leaves. Your cotyledons (small round feeder leaves) are gon, so they are more then likely just hungry.