Hello Mark, welcome to the forum.
Your batteries were definitely from the bad period as you've discovered, but all those made in the later months of 2007 and onwards are greatly improved and there are many commuting daily with them. There's no reason to give up on the Torq as it was reliable for you before, only a battery needed to get you back on the road again.
I believe the current Phylion and Sanyo batteries are available at present, but I don't know when the latest Li-polymer battery is. Probably best to contact Cyclepoint and ask them the supply position now to get the up to date position.
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