Is it the uneven lengths or cosmetic blemishes hurting me

I wish you luck but I fear Folkfreak may be correct as I just do not see any others for sale with cosmetic hiccups so between that AND the unequal lengths the odds are stacked against you for sure.

I know you said Nordost will not help but do you have a good trustworthy store near you that may do the work for you?

Which is one of the reasons I moved away from Nordost ... lousy ongoing support. Audio quest will determinate or cut down any length of their cables at cost whenever you want. I’ve had a 12m balanced converted to three shorter cables, and then had two of these re-terminated single ended with no problems. 

As as others suggest any competent cable engineer can do the work for you. I use Mike at Verastarr when I need this sort of work done. He will give you a good price and he works quickly. 

Sold! A lesson learned I will never do a deal where there are uneven lengths or cosmetic damage on cable ever again.

Yea, I saw sold for just $250 which was a deal for someone and a hard lesson for yourself.
Audiophool can be a picky lot ... Lol.