My fourth year searching for them and i finally found a place! Few hundred feet off the trail and there it was among the mayapple and waterleaf, i could hardly believe it. Tree ID is HARD and i don't have any tips on that front but i don't think there were any elms around because the (lack of) canopy in the area didn't show any sign of flowers/buds. Ended up with 9 ounces and i left some tiny ones behind that still seemed healthy enough to keep growing.
Shout out to the curious deer that patiently led me right to the spot.
I think I'll just fry em up in some oil and add a little butter toward the end, maybe flour them first and then try an actual recipe next time. Gotta get the lay of the land, you know? Probably some sort of simple pasta dish would be the first recipe i'd try with em, incorporating them into a wine/cream sauce, something like that.