Am I missing something?
Your questions are somewhat difficult to answer given that I don't know the depth of detail you wish to get into regarding each topic.
I found a download for QT7 and installed but that version only lets me FF up to 2x speed.
The actual QT 7 "playback" limit is 3x but effective "playback" speeds depend on the hardware limitations of your system and the complexities of the file you are trying to play. Contrary to what many Mac users believe, QT X is a totally different different application than QT 7—not simply an upgraded version. QT 7 is based on legacy technologies what have different features and capabilities and is much more limited in its overall scope.
Is there a way to FF more than 2x speed in QT7?
As previously indicated but not fully explained, pressing the "L" keyboard shortcut once sets your playback to 1.0x, twice for 2.0x and 3 times for 3.0x playback. (Any additional presses do nothing.) Holding down the FF key gives you a 2.0x playback speed, and holding the "Jog Shuttle" control at maximum gives you the maximum playback speed your system can provide for the file you are trying to play.
For example, on my 3.4 GHz quad-core i7 machine, I can play an 853x480 24 fps SD file at 72 fps (3.0x) and reach a top shuttle speed of 180 fps (or 7.5x). And, while I can also play a 2.5K 2560x1440 30 fps file at 90 fps (3.0x), my maximum Jog Shuttle speed is 150 fps or about 5.0x and a 1280x720 120 fps file tops out at a maximum playback speed of only 157 fps or at about 1.3x normal playback speed. Older and less powerful systems would, of course, fare even worse.
What was the version of QT my MacBook Pro was running up until a month ago called?
This is difficult to say. If you are referring to the QT X player, then each Mac OS X operating system since Snow Leopard has come with its own "version" of QT X—OS X v10.6 with QT X v10.0, OS X v10.7 with QT X v10.1, OS X v10.8 with QT X v10.2, OS X v10.9 with QT X v10.3, and OS X v10.10 with QT X v10.4. Further, any given minor version update for each major OS X version may have included changes in QT structure embedded in that OS X version and/or builds of the QT X player itself. In any case, I for one have not kept records that would cover such fine details nor do I know exactly which Mac OS X system, structural embed, and/or QT X build combination was in use on your platform a month ago.
Is there a way to get that back?
Once again, this is difficult to answer. If only the QT X player software has changed and you are running Time Machine, then the answer may be as simple as rolling back to the previous player app. On the other hand, if the changes are in the embedded QT X structure or both the structure and the player, then the only way to get back to the older combination would be to reinstall the older Mac OS X system software and the ability to do this will depend on what installer (or installer package) or extracted copy of the QT player app package you have stored and available to you. (I.e., re-running the App Store download install from scratch may only re-install the "latest version" of a particular Mac OS X operating system so some people make and keep an "emergency" copy of the full installer package stored on their HDD or USB drive or simply copy the contents of the QT X player app package between systems.) So there "may" be one or more ways for you to get the older software back depending on your particular circumstances.
