"App not open any more" / "App not responding" Intermittent (every 72 hours or so) issue on Mac mini M4 running Sequoia

Hi all! I first posted about this a year ago here: "App not open anymore" - intermittent tro… - Apple Community

Unfortunately, no amount of PRAM or SRC resets helped. Nor did swapping out RAM, or any other solution I attempted. In fact, this issue has now followed me to my BRAND NEW Mac mini M4 when I migrated from my old iMac where the problem first appeared (which has me super bummed, as I'd convinced myself it was a sign of my HDD dying that that new hardware would almost certainly fix it...)

WHAT HAPPENS:

Rather frequently (seems to be approximately every 72 hours), my Mac no longer allows me open apps. Apps that are open continue to function just fine, but if I try to open anything else this happens (in order):

• Icon bounces in dock indefinitely.

• If I click the icon while it’s bouncing, it disappears entirely

• If I wait, it stops bouncing. The icon remains (even if I don’t ordinarily keep it in the dock)

• If I try to reopen it, I get a message the “[App name] is not open anymore”, which is strange, as I expect it to not be open and intend to open it.

• Sometimes, more rarely, I get the “You can’t open the application [App name] because it not responding" or no message at all (literally nothing happens - no icon bounce, nothing)

*Note that this happens with ANY/ALL APPS, so it doesn’t appear to be related to any single app pref file or anything like that. It’s a deeper OS issue. Something - an orphaned kext file, a haywire global pref file, etc... - is causing it.

**There is a variation on this pattern where open apps go haywire (won't maximize from the dock), but new apps can be open by typing their names into the Spotlight search bar. In those instances, newly opened apps do not appear on the dock as expected...

WHAT WORKS:

The only thing that makes this issue go away is a reboot. Works every time, in fact. It’s just not practical to reboot this often. The workaround I'd used on my iMac was to simply schedule an automatic reboot via Terminal. Not ideal. I'd really prefer to keep my computer on and reboot on my own terms.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK:

I’ve tried lots of other solutions based on similar posts, none of which have any effect:

• Reseting SMC

• Booting in Safe Mode to clear the cache

• Re-installing the OS entirely (and even MIGRATING to a newer machine with a newer version of the OS)

• Deleting antivirus scanner according to manufacturer's directions

• No longer running Chrome in case some weird auto update thing was happening

• Meticulously going through unsigned apps, outdated pref and kext files, etc. and removing them all painstakingly with frequent reboots.

• Note that this is NOT a hardware issue. Brand new computer here with no physical issues.

WHAT I CAN'T (EASILY) DO:

• Can’t force quit the app via the apple icon as the app isn’t technically running and therefore doesn’t appear in the list

• Can’t attempt to open the app via Terminal as I can’t open Terminal

• Can’t attempt to see what background processes might be causing issues as I can’t open Activity Monitor

• Really really REALLY reluctant to nuke the whole computer and start fresh as I have lots of intricate settings (old POP mail apps that I use for reference with unorthodox folder structures that can't be easily backed up and replicated, etc.). It's important to me that I find the culprit and leave the rest of the system intact.

On those occasions where I've had the foresight to have Terminal and Activity Monitor open ahead of time, I've noticed the following:

• Associated processes appear in Activity Monitor but appear "stuck" (no processor power or RAM is devoted otherwise them).
• If I attempt to open from Terminal while Activity Monitor still shows a process, I get the usual "app is not open anymore" or "app not responding" message. If I force quit the process in AM and try to open in terminal, nothing happens at all on screen and I get a message like this:

A "-600" error would usually indicate some sort of corruption in the app itself, but - again - this applies to ALL APPS and they all go back to normal on reboot, so there must be something else going on.

A FEW MORE NOTES:

• I do sometimes use AppCleaner to uninstall apps as I don't want to have to manually search for leftover pref files or extensions or application support files, etc., but I do not and have never used questionable "Mac Cleaner" apps.
• I have VPN software installed, but it's discreet and rarely if ever used (though I do use it in certain instances and am reluctant to remove it). It's never running during this phenomenon.
• I had Anydesk installed (remote access software), but removed it (and all remnants of it). 72 hours have not passed since then.

I'm attaching my Etrecheck report in the hopes that someone can help identify what could possibly be going on and point me in the right direction to fix it.

I see similar questions pop up on this site and others but have never seen someone post a solution...