Hi there,
resolved.
Yes, I had tried every combination of loading character and maps.
I think that somehow FPSC had not been recognizing mapeditor update, bc at some point it just started working again. I hadn't made changes and I always clear temp after lots of builds.
I wish I could give definitive solution in case someone else runs into it- as it has been posted in the past without solutions.
Now I am fine with characters but having an error during build using zeta mod though all files are present in correct location
Hopefully will find resolution there as well!