SOLUTION OCCURRED IN 2019
Just a necro. But I was active on the forum again and wanted to throw the solution out there for anyone who was having issues.
I replaced the front left strut with one from a junk yard with similar mileage to prevent myself having to replace both sides. I also replaced the sway bar linkage since mine was rusted and was difficult enough to remove. The one from the junk yard was much less corroded on the bolt. I also removed a control arm from the junk yard by @Nevada_545 suggestion but due to the complicity of getting it off from the junker in the first place I opted to try my luck with the strut and sway bar linkage in resolving my issue.
While I was at the junk yard I got 2 replacement rims, threw out the bent rim and replaced my spare donut with the full size.
Everything lined up perfectly and comparing the new and the old struts side by side I could visibly see the old strut was super bent.
The vehicle received a tire alignment and everything is good