EDIT: seems like I already followed up above haha oops; but anyway below is how I feel today.
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I've been meaning to follow up here for a long time. Last year (as per the previous post) S.Haran from FreeDataRecovery services reached out to me as he expressed an interest in attempting to help with recovery. The process took a few months because both of us were very busy and we would work on it with a leisurely attitude as there was no urgency. (I had already given up hope at the time... had nothing to lose.)
After numerous productive sessions, together we were able to successfully recover the data!
There was almost no data corruption (some files so far have demonstrated corruption but this may have been due to bit rot or other reasons unrelated to the recovery process).
I was highly impressed by the technical capability, knowledge, professionalism, and services that FreeDataRecovery provided. And literally, it was free! When it was all said and done and I had successfully migrated and verified the integrity of my data, I donated to the service. The amount I donated was generous given my own situation, but still way less than any average person would pay for "profession data recovery" (who don't even guarantee success!).
I would highly recommend Stephen, and the services provided:
http://freedatarecovery.us/.