Outlook.com Sync email - Unable to load these settings. Please try again later.

I finally got past the "Unable to load these settings. Please try again later" message, only to have all of the connected accounts disappear from web portal the next day!

I discovered this when I realized emails weren't downloading unless I had outlook desktop open (otherwise, nothing downloaded on mobile app or outlook.live).  I have the same pop accounts added to desktop as well, so I assumed this had to do with Exchange and the connected pop accounts, suspecting all the grandfathered connections I had were now a generation past. 

I depend on the mobile app too much, so I as a temporary solution I decided to suspend pop send/receive in outlook desktop and forward my pop accounts to my outlook exchange address. For a bit, that seemed to resolve things, and I was getting email even with outlook desktop closed. 

But NEXT day I started getting duplicate (even triplicate) emails. That's when I realized (maybe?) the pop accounts were still connected with Exchange (perhaps?). I've spent days trying to sort everything out (I have upwards of two dozen email accounts to juggle). I tried everything I could and some things I couldn't (or shouldn't), I'd do-undo-redo, repeat, drink, repeat. 

I've used outlook for over a quarter century (started as a toddler), but yeah, need to move on (tried once before, but, yeah... ).  

Anyone have a similar outlook occurrence?