Oil hose update:
I got the first Aeroquip hose. It has the same too-stiff stainless-steel braid as the others, not a good candidate (another $125 down the tube. 
).
There is another hose that seems to meet the same description of this one, BUT with a nylon overbraid instead of steel. So, I ordered some of that just now, will see how that works next.
But isn't the problem the steel hose itself under the braid or am I confusing something?
No, you have it right: the steel-reinforced hoses (with a layer of steel braid inside AND outside) are too stiff. This makes them slowly 'work' their crimp rings at the ends where they are crimped to our fittings, each time the hose heats up and cools down. The rubber stuff doesn't expand enough to matter, but the steel does. Over time this forces the crimp rings to open a little, then they leak. I've seen this pattern develop on almost all of the steel-covered versions of these hoses. While I'm sure Honda didn't invent the hose they used, I've never been able to find their vendor. I'm sure it is an automotive hose of some type, probably from a [then] hi-end Japanese car maker, maybe someone like Toyota Crown in those days.
