@drbond This has been a fascinating thread following your journey, so thanks for putting it out there and enduring. Your quest is similar in some ways to my own, also in Florida with the many of the same local challenges you mention.
I currently have the STST Motus II DQ direct drive table with Schroder 9" CB, both set up by Soundsmith, and coming highly recommended. Unfortunately or not, I am literally on an island here, so on my own from a support standpoint too. I had struggled getting back into analog after several years off, and received great support from JR at WallyTools, but I still didn’t get very far until engaging Jose @drvinyl01 in Md. I can’t say enough about his willingness to help, regardless of the brands on his shelf, so you might be pleasantly surprised if you give him a call.
I am looking at moving to higher mass approach rather than suspended for my situation (elevated home), such as the J. Sikora Initial or Initial Max, Acoustic Signature Neo series (Typhoon, Hurricane, Tornado), Reed, among others. I have the DS Audio DS 003 optical cartridge and matching phono equalizer with a Schroder CB 9", which is genius in its simplicity and works very well.
You have a terrific system to build on and best of luck in your search.