I suddenly got the same problem in /efi/loader/entries all conf files reverted to previous uuid (first post ). To change uuid I just edited all conf files with the correct uuid for root.
I don’t know if manually changing was correct or if I should use some sort command.
UUID in status is wrong.
I have no idea what is reverting UUID back to the wrong one after updating system.
I could just reinstall but if possible I would like to try to fix this and learn.
Edit: Problem was that in /etc/kernel/cmdline had wrong UUID. Changed it to correct one and dracut-rebuild uses correct UUID.
Your post is incredibly informative and helpful, so this isn’t aimed at you at all, but this kind of fix is why Linux is not ready for the everyday average user.
To be fair, average users would never (or should never) encounter such an issue. The person asking uses Arch (I think?) which is by far not an “average person” distribution.