I think people assume sprites must work like TMs (where their ASDF are based directly on their mental attributes), and then decide "it must work in reverse!" without trying to draw the same conclusion you do from the example.
I can't fault them, as it doesn't say anywhere-- The example references Hacking + Resonance, but sprites have Resonance listed in their stat block, and the Matrix Perception test done doesn't spell out what attributes are used. Also, some people probably feel "The examples in the books are wrong a lot anyways, and TMs need the buff!" and go with whatever is more powerful.
You're definitely right though, a sprite would use its Level in place of any mental attributes whenever one is needed. That also is why all of their Initiative scores are equal to their Data Processing + Level, because every sprite has Intuition equal to its Level.