Is there a *technical* difference between ethics and morality?

No, contracturalism is just one sort of ethical theory.

In general it is a mistake to extrapolate from what you know about professional ethics (of your profession) to ethics in general. Professional ethics is just one, in some respects rather minor, aspect of ethical theory. It just happens to be the aspect that most professionals happen to have some experience of, and some education in.

Strictly speaking, the “rules” of professional ethics are moral rules, not ethical ones. However, it has become common to refer to them as “ethical” because (unlike the everyday moral rules, that most people find intuitive) they are arrived at only via a fairly complex process of ethical reasoning, and generally willingly followed only inasmuch as the professional in question has an understanding of such reasoning.

I wouldn’t disagree with your explanation, but I personally disagree that there is a distinction between morality and the other forms of ethics you describe. Contractual ethics are readily distinquishable from morality, where the other forms are not, IMHO. I’m can’t argue the fact that those other definitions exist though.

We were asked for the technical distinction, as used by moral philosophers, not for personal opinions. Ethics, as technically defined, differs from morals in much the same way as astronomy differs from stars.

Thank you for your really helpful explanations. I learned quite a bit here.