I will present Beyond The Peak: a FTS spectral mapping survey of ionized, neutral and molecular gas of 22 nearby SINGS galaxies. These observations spatially resolve line emission from [NII], [CI] and 12CO from J(4-3) to J(13-12). A key project goal is to develop diagnostics and an understanding of molecular excitation. This can impact the relation between ground based observations of 12CO and mass density, driving deviations from established empirical relations, like KS, by up to an order of magnitude in different environments. These data provide observational diagnostics of how CO excitation varies inside and between galaxies, and how to use ancillary data needed to correctly interpret low-J observations without mid-J and high-J 12CO transitions.