You tried preheating on low for a full two minutes before adding butter? Most people don't wait long enough and think the pan is ready when it's barely warm. Also check if you're using too much heat after the eggs hit the pan, medium low is usually all you need. The metal spatula isn't the problem if you're not scraping like you're trying to dig a hole.

Made me ditch half my process. Worked way better.

Oh please, you actually believed a plumber who wants you to keep dealing with hard water buildup just so he can come back and unclog your stuff again? Even borderline hard water will wreck faucets and shower heads over time, a softener is cheap insurance.

Keep the good news coming.

Curves can be a trap for sure... they have their place but wheels are way more intuitive for getting the base right. I keep my grade simple now - exposure and contrast with the lift/gamma/gain, then tweak saturation and call it done. Most people spend too long chasing tiny details that nobody's gonna notice on a phone screen anyway.