Hi Gary - I did some research online after getting the diagnosis for my phone re: cellular console failing. In the process, I discovered this: iPhone 7 Repair Program for "No Service" Issues - Apple Support
I went back to the Apple Store and showed an associate this recall/repair notice and was told that yes, my phone qualified for this free repair. While frustrating (because I felt the store should have known about this recall to begin with and advised me better), I was grateful to have found this article and grateful that they honored the repair. I just received my phone back today, fixed, they installed a new battery, and $0 charge. Apple redeemed themselves for me on this issue. :-)
Therefore, I encourage anyone experiencing a similar issue to use the above linked notice to help resolve it. To note, the charge for repairing the cellular console (out of pocket) would have been USD $319.