"gave up" and took it to my LBS. First off they said the chain was worn beyond worn. THey checked the hanger alignment said it was dead straight, and also fine with the goatlink.

BUT the RD knuckle was tightened too far back, and the full-length housing was too short (sharp bends). While he was changing that out I popped over to the store. When I got back he said "well it's still not shifting amazing" and he wanted to swap some crankset spacers around to improve the chainline. They initially said they'd knock it out on the spot, I had been planning to drop it off, so no worries, I'll get it back in a few days, and I'm looking forward to some amazing shifting!

Poway Bicycle Shop FTW!