I'm in Naples Flordia, and last year bought some turmeric from the asian grocery and planted it. Now that the tops have died back I dug it this year.

The hands at the base of the plant look right, but what are all the tubers on the long dangling roots!? No pictures I see online of turmeric roots shows such things. Did I somehow get the wrong plant?

That is normal for Curcuma longa (turmeric),
In my place, we dont use those root-bulb, just discard them, only use the rhizome or the leaves for herbs purposes

I agree, those little root tubers are simply storage containers for the plant. They maintain a a supply of nutrients for the plant but generally do not develop into a new plant themselves.