Yeah Im S-off -
Maybe it is a bad backup...Will try another next time...and YES.
I did just flash the new GAPPS....maybe thats it....
Usually I don't do a full wipe - but had an issue last time too...so full format wipe etc.
No Booty - no errors - just hands on the Boot animation.
Not exactly sure what the backup problem is but I'm thinking gapps caused us the boot issues. Odd coincidence that we both updated and then got stuck at boot animation for the first time. At least one mystery is solved I suppose.
I was wondering if the issue of the restore might be related to the kernel problems but mind restored fine.
What about trying a clean install and then do an advanced restore of the data portion of your backup?