can you not just change the control name and the associated control name will update?

I just did this.  Clicked on the associated control and changed "Name" of the control.  The associated control name automatically updated for the label.

I want the label to still be the long name with spaces and punctuation. What I want to change is the backend for formulas. I want to change associated control name without changing the label.

After you change your column name, you can come back in and change the label manually!

I changed the column name which changed the form label (and later added the longer part) but the associated control name stayed the same. I guess I'll need to rebuild the form keeping this in mind.