Thank you for the info. Do you know passport pick up can be done after office hours? I consumed all my vacation days for the year, lol.Strongly recommend going to the passport offices - there's a reason the service standards are faster there.
Instead of signing up for an appointment, just go to a passport office and line up. Depending on office it might take a couple hours but is worth it. At some offices you might have to go early in morning, or you might have better luck heading there later in day and taking your chances.
If you do this and select the 'pick up' option instead of receiving by mail, you have removed most of the potential delays or snags.