Am I just wasting time by thinking at 100NL?

[Austiger]

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because he can't be all that shocked that you would call him down since he's leading every flop. Right?

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Change my hand to AK, AJ. Does my kicker really matter? I've hit this position before against him and laid down on the flop/turn - in other sessions and small pots so it isn't really 'history'.

I called the turn bet fully intending to cf river... then the 7 paired and the most logical holding for him became very rare.

He shows 77 and I feel like a tool.

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Yes it does matter. Here's why:

You can't always call down with an ace b/c it's not profitable. It's also not profitable to fold anything but AA/JJ/77 or he can run you over, obviously. So to win the most money (or lose the least, depending on how good this guy really is) you need to vary your play, and sometimes call him down a little light and sometimes fold. So how do you vary your play? The obvious and easiest answer is to call him down with, say AQ+ or something (vary the range depending on your read of how aggro he really is.) That not only gives you a random type range that makes it tough for him to profit against you (you're calling him down with a pair of aces only a small portion of the time), but it also gives you a higher 2pair draw if he has AJ, a backdoor straight draw if he has a set, and running QQ to give you higher boat if he has 77 (66 doesn't help in this case.)

Those backdoor outs don't happen that often, but if you're going to randomize your range, you might as well go with the hands that have them.