Okay, test pipes ordered. It'll be a 3 week wait, but I might not drive my car as much till then. Turns out there's a 1 month wait at the body shop to get my car fixed as well.
It's making quite a bit of sense now after doing some research: sporadic engine start and idle problems, overheating last year when ambient was above 90F, sluggish response (still exists), slight raspy noise at idle heard echoing against a nearby object, and now barely any boost at times. I've not driven the car hard, but only for emergency at half throttle. Looks like I've been dealing with this for almost a year and now just noticing it.
So hopefully nothing's damaged. My tech will check the turbo exhaust side once the HFCs are pulled.
Thanks, all! Will report with status in a few weeks.
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