Sorry for using romaji. I'm referring to the sounds made when a word contains
a kana sequence like 「ない」 or 「たい」or 「さい」 「かい」

I've read that the two together sound like the word "pie" sounds in English.
I've also read that both sounds are fully pronounced. This seems like a
contradiction to me? Does it vary from word to word? Does it vary from person
to person?

In this YouTube video of 「ちいさい」being said by two people the word sounds to me
like it rhymes with English "pie."

<https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4-BvtEisTU8>

In this song video, 「せかい」 sounds like it has two distinct sounds at the end.
(I've linked to a spot right before the word is sung.)

<https://youtu.be/368lRPMdajw?t=1m30s>
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pronunciation vowels
What is the pronunciation of ai?
To an unaccustomed English ear, "ai" will sound like it should rhyme with
"pie". However, the two values are indeed pronounced separately, each
constituting a full _mora_. In rapid speach, this may be difficult to hear,
but the longer you immerse yourself in the sounds of the language, the more
you'll be able to hear this as not one vowel sound, but two.
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Those examples only sound like "pie" if you say "pie" in a very brief manner,
such as "pah-ye." You can say "pieeeeeeeee" or "piiiiiiieeeee" like a
southerner, and it still means pie. Nobody would misunderstand you. If you
tried stretching Japanese mora like that, you would not be pronouncing
correctly and you would create confusion. On the other hand, when I cannot
understand someone due to background noise (I am old) or unfamiliarity with a
word that sounds like a known word, the person will often repeat himself by
emphasizing each mora: "ku-da-sa-i," which is like spelling for a similar
situation in English.
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If you're asking about the vowel sound of two kana/mora in the sense of one
English vowel sound, you're going about this language the wrong way.

I would strongly suggest that before you continue to study the language, first
study the individual sounds of the vowels in Japanese, in the sense of あ い う え
お. Once you fully grasp how these vowels sound and can make them individually
and accurately, proceed in learning the rest of the kana. These vowel sounds
DO NOT CHANGE.

With that in mind, the sound "ai" あい is "a-i", not "ay" like "hay" or "ie"
like "pie", however close "ie" like "pie" is.

The important thing to grasp is that "ai" is not one syllable, because
Japanese uses a "syllable-like" system called the "mora" もら, which assigns (in
the basic sense) one kana, one syllable-length. So, あい is two-mora in length,
and so you must consider each kana an individual sound.

Then, as you learn the rest of the kana, you will then begin to group them
correctly with this knowledge:

> あい is two-mora, "a-i". かい is two-mora, "ka-i". さい is two-mora, "sa-i".  
>  せかい is three-mora, "se-ka-i". きいて is three-mora, "ki-i-te"

...and so on.

As you gain fluency, you'll speak words in a way that doesn't sound
disjointed, but rather natural.

Hope this helps clarify.
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answer