Halo I agree with you that you should take your shot, this way you will know that you did everything you could and have no regrets or coulda shoulda woulda after, either way it comes out. you have gotten further than most thought was possible. you may well win.
i say this as someone who has recently accomplished what i knew and set out to prove 10 years ago. i was told by 4 high powered manhattan law firms that i was wasting my time that i would never accomplish what i was trying to get done, that it wasnt possible. well guess what. i did get it accomplished. it took a lot of research and was very hard work, but i feel good and maybe others will be helped based on the work that i did.
it didnt involve social security but did involve federal and local agencies.
good luck to you.