Are email templates static or will they add or remove fields to match the ones on the form?

any time there is an amendment to
the form, the auto-generated notification are static and so the form
response fields are expected to not change?

There are what we call dirty email templates and the non-dirty, or plain - auto generated email templates.

The difference between the two is that autogenerated emails will keep being updated with the form fields, so if you remove a field on your form, it will be removed in your email as well.

The same goes if you add the field - it will automatically be added to the email as well.

Now the 'dirty' email template is the template that you make a change on. It does not matter if it is a small change or a big change, the email will no longer be updates, so any change to the form fields, would require a change done by you directly in the email template itself.

Do note that you can and should change the preferences of the email template, they would only stop being updated if you change the email body - nothing else.

Hope that this helps shed some light, but do let us know if you any further questions in regards to this and we would be happy to assist.

So because my template was a clone it is "dirty"...? Is there any way to make it non-dirty?

You can try deleting the current email notification that you have and setup a new one instead. See this guide on how to do that: http://www.jotform.com/help/25-Setting-Up-Email-Notifications.

If you are making major changes on the form like deleting the existing fields and adding a new one then having a totally different name on it, it is likely that the deleted field will still show in the email template. It's better to test your form to make sure that everything is working fine. 

I hope that helps.