for now trying to get the foundation set right
Without quoting your entire post, I'll make a few points and draw a few analogies which I hope will help...
1) The foundation should begin with key staff being confident and so skilled that they can recite from memory the 3 primary colors of human vision, RGB, along with the opposite secondary colors, CMY, most preferably in that exact order. When one observes a print that might be too red, the remedy is to either add cyan or reduce yellow and magenta. Knowing such is as important as intrinsically understanding a simple compass or 6 strings on a guitar. It should be easy for one to realize from the sun or their shadow which direction they might be headed or when a musical instrument might be out of tune. So goes printing with color.
2) Especially X-rite's licensing agreement prohibits most remote profiling. If you don't have a license, on-site visits are required by licensees, hence Scott Martin's On-Sight and Roy Bohnen's Color Onsite service, etc.
So, without the fundamental mentioned earlier, it's very likely the vast majority of instruction from a color management site visit will be lost. Your situation is somewhat like a 3 piece performance band with some impressive gear but there isn't a tuning device to be had and no one is experienced enough to tune by ear. If you call somebody over to tune everything, how long might you imagine that single effort will last? You will need your own tuning device soon enough. You're already performing, right?
3) The recommendation is to invest in the hardware and software and spend a couple of weeks or so with real effort and study. Surely there will be failure but maybe also some success.
Then call in the CM expert because you will be closer to understanding and can better benefit from the experience.
4) Know that you will use the hardware and software every few days or more to track calibration across your machines. Routine calibration is relatively quick compared to actually generating profiles.
Good luck!
