This morning Ebenefits switched to "Gathering of Evidence" again, but now states "Decision notification sent". So I went to the disabilities section, and there it is, my final ratings.
"Good" news:
They did look at my additional evidence provided to MSC after initial ratings. They appear to have only considered evidence for very specific claims I made; in this case I provided test results for sleep apnea. That is to say, I also provided evidence of a partial blindness in 1 eye, but did not claim blindness on my disability claim, so they did not rate it. Other good news, my final rating increased to 90% from the 80% proposed.
"Bad" news:
They reduced my MH claim from the proposed 50% to a final of 30%. That's obviously a huge disappointment. It's also a roadblock to getting to 100% VA, which is obviously the end goal. I was slightly surprised when the initial was rated at 50%, but then saw the DBQ and understood. Now I'm surprised they reduced it.
I will appeal. In the very records they already have, there are a few things they overlooked, and 1-2 things they didn't rate due to a lack of evidence that I now possess. HOWEVER, unless the MH rating is raised back to 50%, there is no path to 100%, even with all the other evidence.
At the end of the day, 90% is more than many people get, and will help my family greatly; so if that's where it ends I'm content. I am certainly annoyed that they were able to overlook the results of tests that they (the VA) actually conducted themselves at my C&P, which VASRD states are compensable. Additionally, in their final decision they removed some things from service connected to non-service connected, such as Tuberculosis, which I contracted in Iraq.