Very frustrating problem, my condolescences.
Anyways, just a thought, one more possibility to check next time you're in there, is the groove that holds the seal in the block "centered" ?
I've seen blocks where the groove is actually slightly staggered to one side, whereas, when you're looking at the seal compression against the crank in the block, with the rear cap off of course, you can actually "SEE" the lip contacting and compressing more on one side than the other.
Did the same thing as you 4 times before I caught it !
Really frustrating !
The "fix" for me was to stagger the seal across the parting line about 1/4" and use the cap when re-installing to drag the seal into contact on the offending side.
Just something to check, hope you find the problem, I really feel for you ! Good luck !