Getting “More…” Status

Can you elaborate on what it is you mean ? Or your intended goal ?

Wouldn’t that put it on the end of every entry? I only want it if I specify it within my post using the actual “more” button in the post area.
Or am I not understanding?

The text sent via the argument to the_content() only gets used whenever the “more” link would appear. So that text won’t appear at the end of every entry.

Maybe you’ll find this of interest :
https://mookitty.co.uk/devblog/archives/2004/06/27/the-moose-is-loose/