First, this appears to be a very informative community for this subject, TIA for any information which might help me, and possibly future individuals with a similar situation. I will try to give as much detail.
In 1996, I consolidated all of my student loans into 1 with Sallie Mae, totaling ~$30k. The first few years, I admittedly did what I could just to keep them in deferment or forbearance. After a few years, as I aged and matured, I realized I would need to deal with these, and they weren't going to go away. At this time, interest rates were plummeting, and I wanted in.