Try eating a hormone and antibiotic beef from Public's called green wise. It will taste better and will not produce stomach and digestive disorders. Please try I did and it was awesome. No antibiotics or hormones. Bit more expensive. I bought the patties, may be under a different name.
Did you get your mystery solved? It kinda sounds like you have a eustacian tube blocked and infected. But the swallowing could be entirely different. I had same problem many years ago. It felt like I was being water boarded. I'd be sitting reading and all of a sudden, my swallow reflex (for spit) just wasn't there. I'd panic and try again. It's very scary. I'd grab a glass of water and sip to get past it. Turned out this was one if my first signs that I had MS (multiple sclerosis).
I can't believe I found someone else with my symptoms! I have been to 3 doctors, PCP, Ear Nose & Throat, and Digestive Disease doctors. None have helped me. Like you, I also have excess thick phlem that chokes me. It is so bad, and I've had it for 10 years. Yes, really. It always flares up after I eat, so it must be digestive related, but it triggers my sinuses to overproduce. I clear my throat all the time, and it's horrible. The ENT looked inside my throat with a video scope (found nothing wrong), the GI doctor did two EGD's which found digestive issues that I never had any symptoms of! Like you, I didn't have any heartburn problems. But, I thought at last they had found the cause. I was put on Esoprazole and am still on it 2 years later, but sadly it doesn't help at all. My condition is exactly the same as always. I don't have your symptoms of earwax, weird smell, or taste, though. Just the excessive, choking, thick mucus that seems like it will never go away. Please tell me if you found an answer.
