I assumed that reaching to the brake hoods caused discomfort, that's why you wanted a shorter reach. I don't think you've provided any specific dimensions of either your body or your bike's setup, so it's really hard to make meaningful comments. Dimensions like your actual saddle height, the setback of the saddle tip from the center of the BB, the drop from the saddle to the top of the bars and the distance from the saddle to to center of bars are all helpful.

I was just trying to make a few points. One is that a saddle set too far forward, either to achieve a knee over pedal situation, or to reduce reach, can produce a poor weight balance that may require a short reach and/or drop to be comfortable. It sounds like you't fit, but do you have good flexibility? I'm no youngster either at 55, but I can place my hands nearly flat on the floor in bare feet.

I have a pretty extreme ratio of height to inseam (168/83), but don't need a special frame to be comfortable. I do use short reach handlebars that decrease the reach by about 10mm, so I can use a 110mm stem, but that's it. I manage to tolerate a 12cm drop from the saddle to the bars, so I don't need a tall head tube or a high rise stem.

Another point I tried to make was that seat tube length does not affect the fit. With most frame these days having sloping TTs and shorter STs, you need to figure out the head tube length needed to produce a specific handlebar height, then see if you can get the TT length that you need. If you posted a specific handlebar height, measured from the floor to the top of the bars, I could tell you what head tube length to look for in a modern frame using an integrated headset.