Oh wow never thought I'd see anyone else complain about this, I'm in the same boat but with the GT-1000. I bought a pair of the new Kayanos recently and they're so bad I had to stop wearing them because they're literally destroying my feet.

They ditched the center reinforcement for a straight foam plate. The center reinforcement that was their entire reason for being popular for 25 years.

I’m very unhappy.

I used to run in Brooks Adrenaline, then they seemed to change and not work so well for me. So I tried Asics GT 2000 (also a short shoe) and found them better until they stiffened them up in one revision so I moved to GT 1000 though I'm thinking of trying other things as recent models seem to lose all cushioning sooner. When I first got into trail running I used ASICS models but they started either upsetting my heal or falling apart in the upper, so my main trail pairs are Hoka (along with a hybrid I'm experimenting with).

The struggle is real.

While part of it might be that my body and running style have changed slightly over time, most of it is that shoes change regularly. I experienced a first recently thought: my feet actually significantly prefer the newer SpeedGoat design to the previous revision (though I fear the heal design might encourage more little stones & bits into the shoe, it is more comfortable for me). Just watch them revert those changes, so in future when I need to replace this design will be hard or impossible to find at a good price...

I've given up on Asics after I found Mizuno Wave Rider GTX (on a sale). Goodbye heel chafing, loosening sole, and many other problems. Haven't used a more comfortable shoe than this, and works great with excellent cushioning on both asphalt and trails. Can't believe this brand isn't more popular than it is.