zkted, we've got a lot of guys on the forum who know a lot more about hydraulics than I, but I'll try a short version.
<font color=blue>How does the power beyond valve or port work on a tractor</font color=blue>
The pump is pushing that oil to the inlet port on the valve. Most of us have "open centered" valves so the oil flows through the valve and onward to power other things - such as the 3-point hitch. If there is no power beyond port, or if it is plugged and not in use, then the oil goes in the inlet and out the outlet, but when you use that valve - move the lever - you are interrupting the flow temporarily and whatever is downstream from there cannot be used simultaneously. However, if you have the power beyond, then even when you are using that valve, oil is still flowing through the power beyond port on to the other valves downstream.
<font color=blue>Why 3 lines?</font color=blue>
When you have the power beyond port in use, so oil is continuously flowing through it downstream, as mentioned above, then you need a line from the outlet port on the valve to dump the oil back to the reservoir or tank when the valve is used.
Example: My front end loader valve has power beyond (3 lines - inlet from the pump, power beyond, and outlet to the tank) so even when I'm raising or lowering the front end loader, I can simultaneously raise or lower the 3-point. But then I added another two spool valve on the fender for hydraulic top 'n tilt. The power beyond port is plugged, so it simply has the inlet and outlet ports is use. When I am using one of those levers, I cannot raise the 3-point hitch until I return the top 'n tilt lever(s) to the center (spring loaded so they return to center when I release them).
Hope this helps; maybe someone else can expand on it if you have other questions.
Bird