dkl1
Android Expert
my baseband version is I535VRLHE. You can get it here:
[MODEMS] <VRLK3> Verizon SGS3 (SCH-I535) [ODIN or RECOVERY-flashable] - Verizon Galaxy S III Development - RootzWiki
Don`t know how you would find/extract the modem or rpm from your backups or if they`re even there. I think the rom, the kernel, & the baseband versions are independent. Not sure though.
I think you're right on them being separate...read somewhere they survive a factory reset when flashing a new ROM.
Thanks for the link, I'll try it if the one I flashed doesn't do much better..


. 
so I restored to 5.5.1. I'm just not the best at analytical troubleshooting so this was simply stressing me out! I'm gonna stay here for a while until I feel the urge to 'improve' upon my ROM...