Welcome to the forum, Jason. Hate to hear your screen is getting unusable. I don’t have answers to all of your questions, but I do know of one solution (I’ve replaced the LCD on my Analog Keys with a new custom OLED from user @zigmars here). However, it isn’t straightforward or very inexpensive. Still, if you do end up considering an OLED replacement, I think the one that @zigmars has put together is quite nice and I’d recommend you go to that thread for more info (based on your questions, it seems you may have been over there, but in case you haven’t I’ll add a link).
For readability, I think it’s a really nice option to have and it’s certainly the only true OLED replacement I am aware of for the AK / A4 Mk1.
The price for me ended up being around 135€ / $150 including shipping to where I’m located in the US, but it will depend where you’re at. And the installation process is not quick, so if you aren’t comfortable doing an involved desoldering / soldering project, then you may want to find someone else to do it or find another solution. I posted a detailed explanation of my process there, and user @infekted recently posted an even-better video tutorial. And dealing with Zigmars was very easy, he is also available to help answer any questions about it. The last I saw, he still has some units available for sale.
But I understand if that isn’t a feasible option for you, for one reason or another. It’s just the only solution I personally knew to tell you about. Hopefully there are users who know more about some other alternatives. I believe there may be LCDs available somewhere from parts dealers, but I’m not sure. If you haven’t contacted Elektron directly, they may also have some info or guidance. I don’t know if they can still do repairs or sell parts for these, but it doesn’t hurt to ask 