I kept trying for recovery, once I had that I did several factory data resets in a row, wiped the sd card and transfered CTMod and noobV1 over as well as CWM. Reflashed CWM
I was using TWRP, Did several more factory data resets , clear cache, dalvik, 3-4-5 times, Finally flashed CTMod because, I knew it was a small simple powerful rom, and if I could get one to flash, then this was my best chance.
And, it worked. Ran that for a few days, then did all the above, Factory data, clear cache, etc, And flashed my old favorite noobVI. As of right now, the phone is solid as a rock, except for the random MMS issue. But that's a network prob, IMHO.