Wow, an inspector asking one question and suddenly six years of doing it your way was wrong? Sounds like he just wanted to justify his paycheck, pink slime or not.

2900 for a 2011 Civic is normal, the salvage title barely matters if the frame's straight.

Why is it always the cheapest part that hides the longest? I once spent a whole Sunday pulling my dash apart looking for a short (had the multimeter out and everything, felt real proud of myself) and it was a $12 relay. You threw $140 and a Saturday at a $25 switch, which honestly sounds about right for how these things go. The worst part is that ignition switch probably looked totally fine from the outside, so you never would have guessed it in a million years. At least you know your battery and cables are solid now, so that is sort of a win.