I am wondering if with how lrs works in the wording for it, could i use xx-23 s-thread tracers as a way to still target lock ships closer then range 3?

No. Acquiring a target lock always have to obey the Range restrictions, so if you have LRS, you can not target lock ships at Range 1-2, even if you get to acquire a target lock from XX-23 S-Thread Tracers

Ok thanks for the answer.