Your problem is definitely one of the most baffling I’ve ever read about! Wow. I’m struggling with a different but also baffling problem in my 2nd system - exceedingly loud occasional POP noises during playback - and it’s with records that don’t do that in my main system, and I’ve also swapped out just about every component trying to isolate or affect the behavior, and tried all kinds of static control measures, and power conditioning, to no avail yet. I don’t want to keep subjecting my tweeters to this crap.
It’s down to either the cartridge somehow being at fault, or the fact that my main rig’s VAC phono stage and SUT (since you mentioned SUT) is somehow protecting or not exacerbating these kinds of issues. I’ve long used a SUT in my main rig and perhaps it has some positive protective benefits beyond just the sound quality (which I also like - it adds warmth and body). Surface noise and pops have always been kept to a very reasonable minimum level in the main rig. An excellent analog experience has long been easy peasy, in that rig. I just bought the VAC phono and SUT over to the 2nd system; fingers crossed.
My issue has driven me bonkers, and I’m sure yours has done so as well. Hope we make some headway soon!