Oddest fix ever. My phone is working again, the bootloader screen is no longer a problem.
First, my list of things that didn't work. SPrecovery restore, battery pulls, wall charging, over some 50 reboots, and re-flash of stock rom (flashing was successful but bootloader screen persisted). What did the trick? I GAVE UP. lol.
I noticed the phone's LED would work but only when connected to the PC (strange). I left it there on the USB all day, despite the fact that the battery was full (it may have drained a little after so many reboots), the usb led light never turned off to signal it was full. I removed it after some 8-10 hours and no more bootloader loop. :icon_ banana:
Thanks to everyone for all your help.