I have supported the game since its initial launch and I can see the issues with it, but I cannot agree that they are taking the same route as Tanaka's team. The issue there, at least from my perspective, was the outright ignoring of things that weren't working or were not liked. Here, Yoshi is struggling, trying to appease everyone, so it seems to be the exact opposite. As for older content still not being fixed, I'd need an example, I see bug fixes listed for older content all the time. I also think I can answer a few of these questions you posed from the confused:

-Why is 2.4's content so much harder than anything else up to this point?
Actually, this is a middle ground. The content is more difficult because the players asked for it. More hardcore players have been complaining about content that isn't challenging, so, new things were introduced to make it so that newer content was more difficult, to allow those who like the challenge to have more to chose from than just slamming their faces against end game content.

-What about the low rewards, or hunting nerfs, or the fact that people are getting duty lockouts that didn't break the new rules?
Low rewards are placed to help control progression, that's simple, they don't want players finishing all the new things in an afternoon and then waiting for the next patch because they have nothing to do. Low rewards means you have to work harder. Hunting nerfs are more about balance than anything else. The system was introduced and was easily too broken for the elite few, making hunting useless to anyone outside of the larger groups that camped the same creature for massive seals that could gear up everything in a few hours. They didn't nerf it, they balanced it. Hunts work fine now. The duty lockouts for people who have not broken the new rules are a glitch, so contact the support desk and get things handled, it's simple. Take action, talk, communicate and things get done. If all people do is complain instead of taking the valid steps they need to inform SE there is a problem, then nothing gets done.
I am looking forward to what the dev team comes up with, this game will keep me occupied for a long time to come and I know they will release all kinds of content. However, the game is still young, and there is much we can still come to expect that will be balanced, changed and altered. The game's relaunch, which SE invested a lot of time and money into, is still in its game infancy, let's help it grow up nice, balanced and strong by staying positive and following what we need to when things look grim.