Interesting history Bob, thanks for sharing.
My love for revolvers came while growing up in the 70's. One of my Dad's friends was a cop and he packed a model 19 4". His wife would take us kids for walks in the woods and we never left the house without her 6" model 19. I've been fascinated with revolvers ever since.
Well, back to the OP. My worst, with out a doubt, would be a 44 Taurus Tracker I purchased a couple years ago. Dang thing was brand spankin new, but performed like one of your $1.50 to $3.00 acquisitions (maybe even worse). Went back to the factory with no success so I fixed it myself then sold it. The bright side (if you want to call it that) I learned the ins and outs of Taurus revolvers.