Foam roller did nothing for my ITBS. Winter seemed to help, but I'm not 100% sure yet. It flares up for me on the downhill of large hikes. Of course, increasing activity too fast will cause it as well.

There is a ton of misinformation out there. It may not be perfect but I found the article below helpful at least because it aggregates what research has been done so far on the topic:

http://saveyourself.ca/tutorials/ili...d-syndrome.php

I'm not sure what you describe sounds like ITBS to me but I'm not an expert. For me the telling thing is definitely walking downhill. On one hike it was nearly debilitating, walk 10 steps, rest, walk 10 steps, etc. Until I hit a flat section, then I could walk totally normally. Oddest thing.