I believe my solution to the GPS code reverting back to factory default worked. One day after I hooked it up to a 3V external battery, the code is impact. It connected to i2c when I booted it up. I will keep this battery external and replace it as needed, which shouldn't be any sooner than a coupe of years, being 10 times larger than the original that was on the GPS.
Attaching a pic of what I did. Next step is making sure the baro sensor is not impacted with airflow.