Re: Help on what to do
When Mr. Dremel took his excursion, was the material he removed at the end of the barrel channel, and did it have the sort of shape that made it look like it had been put there deliberately?
The reason I asked is that when I bought my 700 VLS .223 about a decade ago, I did pretty much the same as you, and got pretty much the same result. It wasn't until I replaced the contact area/presure pad that accuracy returned. Some rifles, barrel contour completely aside, simply seem to require a contact pad at the end of the barrel channel in order to tame the barrel and deliver consistent accuracy.
A temporary fix that can identify this situation is to place shim material inside the front end of the barrel channel, enough to induce some slight upward flex to the barrel when the stock screws are fully tightened.
If it works, simply glue in the shims and the fix is permanent.
Also, don't attempt load development until after you do this test, or you might find the intial development work was a waste of time and components.
Greg