Sorry to hear about your troubles Brad. I know of lots of people having trouble with dry rock from all sorts of different sources. Some of my clients have dry rock in their tanks too, and the tanks are terrible to maintain. It seems like it takes 8-12 months just for it to look half decent. I'm with you - I'd rather just pay more and enjoy the tank now. Looking at that last pic you posted and the age of the tank, I'm guessing you have at least another 3 months battle ahead. At least you have real lights over it!
I have some old, old live rock that's been cooking in vats for years - some of it like 6 years. Sometimes the barrel is only half filled with (very salty) water. It has a MaxiJet, no heater. Over the years I have added this to my tanks, removed it from tanks, it's like the rotating rock bin. Even using this old, lifeless, white rock is so much better than the dry rock. Probably because instead of being "dead" it is "sterilized". Haha!