" A vein on my cheekbone is pulsating harder than normal, and looks
ruddy. Could this be a nutritional thing? Sleep sooths it but exercise
rankles it. "

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It could very well be 'nutritional thing'.

I've noticed that some people tend to get
temple veins that noticable protrude.

My best (and barely educated) guess would
be that it's some type of nutritional imbalance
that is causing it.

The word for inflammation of a vein is "phlebitis," and if it's caused
by a clot ("thrombus"), then "thrombosis" or "thrombophlebitis."  But
most of the information you'll come across is about deep, not shallow
("superficial"), thrombophlebitis.  On the other hand, superficial
thrombophlebitis is often secondary to invisible deep venous thrombosis
(DVT).

But it's probably not a vein.  In general, arteries pulse, not veins.
But it could be a nerve problem, too.  Veins and venous blood are less
red than arteries and arterial blood, but the redness might be due to
inflammation, not the vessel itself.

As for nutrition, my first impulse is to attribute (almost) *everything*
to nutrition, but I'd look among pictures on dermatology websites (or in
the free online Merck Manual) to see if I could find one that looks like
what you've got.  You might want to familiarize yourself with the basic
vocabulary of skin lesions first.

And you might as well check out things that interfere with sleep or
exacerbate stress, just to make sure you don't have any bad habits in
that department.

So, bearing in mind that I'm an ignorant, uneducated amateur, look into
(1) circulation, (2) dermatology, (3) neurology, and (4) infections for
a diagnosis.  Try to pin down every detail you can about the problem,
especially what affects it, what nerve or vessel is involved, and every
sign and symptom you can imagine.  (Pain, elevation, color, size,
toughness, temperature, history, changes, etc.)

Once you've got some suspicions about what it might be, you'll be in a
better position to look for what to do about it.

If you can afford to see a doctor, don't put it off -- but that should
go without saying, of course.  There's a website called "doctor
yourself," or something like that, but there's no substitute for an expert!