Unfortunately, my final verdict for this and all other correlated issues:
is that the Issue lies on layer 8. Unfortunately, these kinds of issues are barely solvable and require extensive knowledge gathering to resolve.
With that verdict in mind and the expectation that its likely not gonna be resolved, im out of these threads. Many paths lead to Rome. Which doesnt mean one can just pic any path and Land in rome.
One final question out of curiosity though:
Why would you change/backup/delete the config file of a running system live?
Leads me to think, that you also deleted the wallet database at runtime as well as other, unthinkable curiosities to happen.