I ended up talking directly with Apple Support and was given the same document. I had already performed all of the steps >> checked itunes for latest update, rebooted imac, the latest download/update version for the iphone, verified that my cable is iphone 8 compatible, got another Apple cable - all failed.
Then Apple said that it is most likely a power issue and the phone that was working but just needed the parental controls cleared (password forgotten) ...that is now a brick, needs to be sent in.
...
Note to anyone in the future who forgot the parental lock passcode and need to reset their iphone to clear it, hook up to itunes and get a good backup(that you shouldn't restore). Then, use the reset to factory function that is in the phone instead of through itunes so that the bios of the phone isn't erased and then you aren't holding a brick.