I was able to get it to work. just went back and methodically worked thru it. here is the important section of the esphome.yaml that works.
spi:
clk_pin: GPIO7 # SCK
mosi_pin: GPIO9 # MOSI
# MISO not used for e-paper
display:
- platform: waveshare_epaper
model: 1.54inv2
id: epd
cs_pin: GPIO2
dc_pin: GPIO4
reset_pin: GPIO1
busy_pin: GPIO3
update_interval: never
rotation: 270
full_update_every: 1