The domain was registered over 22 years ago, and it kept moving through registrars who were acquired. We do have a solid record of reliable services, and have kept growing in spite of never taking a dime in outside capital.

To me this is even worse than choosing a bad registrar once by mistake. You keep choosing companies who can't stay in business and let your domain float around like it didn't matter. The second or third buy-out of your name registration should have been an alert to switch to a top tier company for stability. On the internet, your domain name is literally the crux of your services.

Thank you for sharing your story. It should serve as a warning to others who may need to audit their infrastructure.