This was solved outside of this post, Thanks for the help!
Topic summary
Issue: Header menu items without attached images (Direct Links) display a default “No IMG” stock image. Goal was to hide these placeholders while retaining images for items using Metafields, and optionally add images to URL/Direct Links without apps.
Guidance: Use Liquid control flow to render images only when a metafield image exists. Suggested pattern: an if/else check (e.g., “if metafield.image != blank”) before outputting the image.
Implementation location: The check likely belongs in the megamenu-image-custom.liquid snippet, which is rendered from header-menu.liquid. Metafields are Shopify custom data fields; Liquid is the templating language; a snippet is a reusable code file; control flow means if/else conditions.
Status: A screenshot was shared to show the issue. The OP later reported the problem was solved outside the thread, with no specific code solution posted.
Open items: The request for a quick, code-only method to add images to Direct Link menu items was not answered, and the exact implementation details of the fix remain unspecified.