Well, things keep getting worse…
I pulled the valve cover off and tried to move the intake camshaft by hand a few degrees. If it DOES move, then it is working. If it DOES NOT move, then it is frozen. Well, it DID move, meaning it is operating correctly.
it was difficult to rotate the camshaft, but I believe that was just because of the camshaft also compressing some of the intake valves. So next I am going to pull the timing belt and try to rotate just the actuator.
and since both the left and right sides are identical, I will swap the VVTs. If the failure switches too, then it is definitely the VVT.
Lots of work ahead!

It’s not as simple as you make it sound, while the timing belt is installed, you should not be able to rotate the cams independently, the vvti works under heavy spring and oil pressure, and if you remove the timing belt the cams can easily jump 30 degrees so you can’t do much diagnosing this way. It shouldn’t be this difficult, you’re certain all the wiring is correct? Try swapping the OCV valves and see if the code changes or anything like that? They look different but they can be interchanged side to side. What does your oil look like? Does it turn black soon after you change it? Or does it stay clean for many thousand miles?

I went down the rabbit hole. And it’s a deep hole.
first, while the OCV solenoids themselves are the same, the bracket welded to it is a mirror-image of one another. So they are NOT interchangeable.
so I decided to pull the whole thing apart. What I found inside the VVT was horrifying. The carbon buildup was nasty. The gears would not move at all. After a whole can of brake cleaner, and massaging the gears slowly back and forth, they started moving nicely. That’s when my bad luck struck again. I got the gears moving so freely that they fell out! Now, if you have watched the previous posted CartuneNZ video, once the gears come out, they do not go back together.
they are pretty and clean, but I cannot get them back together. I will post a video soon about it, but ultimately I think that was the problem. So, if I cleaned them without them falling apart, I might have won, but otherwise, I would have to get a new one either way. So take it from me, do NOT take the VVT gears out EVER!

I have seen that cat tunes video, it’s been a while but it seems like he reassembled it just fine? I thought you were talking about the little filter/solenoid that uses oil pressure to control the vvti? Did you disassemble the cam gear? The cartunez guy warned that it should only be taken apart if you had some major oil leaking from the gear

Did you score a match mark on the side before taking it apart?
If you did putting it back together correctlyis not impossible.

In the video you mention $200 a pop from the UAE. I’ve kept an eye on the price of them for quite a while and I’ve never seen it this low.
Impex has always sold them cheaper but currently Amayama is the best price at $165 plus S&H. If Amayama will fulfill the order at that price I’d jump on it quickly and get this headache behind you. I’s sure you’re aware the assembly is a $550 (retail) part from a dealer. A lot of online prices in the $400 range so the $165 at Amayama makes sense. Amayama ships much quicker than you’d think.

Update:
finally, some progress. So I inadvertently took apart the ‘Not Serviceable’ VVT Actuator itself as per the video posted above.
well, I cleaned it all up and figured out how to put it back together. I did the same thing on the other bank. Both were full of carbon buildup.
now all I have to do is wait a week for the O-rings to arrive so I can put it back together. My fingers are crossed as to it working or not.
I will follow up.

As mentioned above, if you scored a match mark before disassembly and put it back EXACTLY as it was you should be fine.
If you did not simply putting the parts back together is not sufficient and the engine will be out of time.

I do have marks and photos to back it up, so I should be good. But, yes, that is an extremely important step.
I believe the actuators were definitely a problem and needed to be cleaned. Question is: is it THE problem? Time will tell…

Nice!
I don’t recall you mentioning that step in the video so I was a bit concerned.

Hopefully this works. It looks like you're going deeper than anyone else has into repairing these. When you were showing how you got it back together it reminded of putting together old camera lenses and getting the helical gearing of them to mesh at the right point so that the lens movement focuses in relation to the indicators on the lens.

Anyway sorry it took so long on connectors, but here's some of the connectors I've cross referenced. My notes were kind of a mess:
The middle number is the Corsa-Technic Cross Reference Number

VSV Evap || TS090-2S-1 || 90980-11156 (This is the purge solenoid on the LH bank with the vacuum lines attached to it. I believe this is what you called the EGR, it's just for the charcoal canister)
VSV ACIS || * || * (These are same as part number above | This is the connector on the RH side of the Manifold that goes to the VSV that's attached to the underside of the manifold)
Throttle Control Motor || * || *
Throttle Position Sensor || SSC-4S-A || 90980-10711
Coolant Temp Sensor || SSC-2S-C || 90980-10736
Injectors || TS090-2S-6 || 90980-10736
Coil Pack || 090II-4S-2 || 90980-11885
VVT Sensors || 090II-2S-1 || 90980-10947
Noise Filter || TS090-2S-3 || 90980-10843 (This is the single wire connector on both sides of the upper manifold, it's for suppressing electrical noise for the radio and such?)
Knock Sensor || 090II-1S-1 || 90980-11166
Oil Control Valve || 090II-2S-5 || 90980-11162

I have a whole bunch more if you need, but these are the primary connectors you end up messing with directly on top of the motor. I have almost the entire engine bay harness written down finally, so if you need more let me know. I've just found that this is the cheapest way to get good connectors without having to buy them at Toyota prices.

That is great info on the plugs. Thanks.
2 questions on them.
1. Can you go further into depth about the noise suppression systems you talk about for the radio? The plugs on either underside of the upper intake. I am having an engine whine through my radio. This might help.
2. Do you have the plug cross-reference number for the oil low level sensor deep on the bottom on the left side of the block, by the oil dipstick tube. It is kinda reverse from other plugs.
thx.

Unfortunately I don't really know much about the noise suppression connectors. I know Toyota just refers to it as a Noise Filter(Ignition Left and Right Banks). I want to say it was in a video by CarTuneNZ who mentioned it. They're a 2 pin connector, but only have 1 wire going to them and they just mount on top of the intake.

As for the Oil Level Sensor it looks like:
090II-2S-2 || 90980-11235

Also I figured might be helpful:
Camshaft Position Sensor: 090II-2S-1 || 90980-10947
Crankshaft Position Sensor: 090II-2S-5 || 90980-11162

Here is an (unfortunate) update of the VVT rebuild.