Is that why my bot suddenly got easier too?

The felt liner rattling against the wood spine for 3 years is brutal, but I have to disagree that it was a build mistake. That felt was probably doing its job at first and just came loose over time, which happens to almost every liner. My tower did the same thing after about a year and a half, and it was just the glue drying out, not me messing up. Pulling it apart and re-gluing is the real fix, so you are not alone but I would not blame your past self too hard.

The fat color thing is real, I noticed the same switch at my counter when I moved from 16 to 18 weeks, and it changed how the cuts looked on the tray before anyone even tasted them. That deeper color and creamy fat also hold up better on the grill, so you get less shrinkage and a texture that eats more like beef without losing that soft veal bite. Once you go older, going back to the pale stuff feels like selling a whole different product.