It seems like Gear and GAS problems are the symptom rather than the problem here.
It's possible that to you, you seem least good at the things you enjoy most because your standards and expectations are higher - and we are all our own worst critics. Perhaps you need to dedicate more time to these pursuits to reach the level that you want to attain. It's important to find out what kind of photographer you want to be - we don't all want to photograph the same thing, nor should we, but you can point a camera at anything you like and make great photographs.
"Try everything. Photojournalism, fashion, portraiture, nudes, whatever. You won’t know what kind of photographer you are until you try it. During one summer vacation (in college) I worked for a born-again tabletop photographer. All day long we’d photograph socks and listen to Christian radio. That summer I learned I was neither a studio photographer nor a born-again Christian. Another year I worked for a small suburban newspaper chain and was surprised to learn that I enjoyed assignment photography. Fun is important. You should like the process and the subject. If you are bored or unhappy with your subject it will show up in the pictures. If in your heart of hearts you want to take pictures of kitties, take pictures of kitties.” - Alec Soth.
"Always try to be honest with yourself. For example, is the idea of being a photographer more exciting to you than photography itself ? If this is true think about becoming an actor. If you genuinely love photography don’t give it up. Understand and enjoy the fact that photography is a unique medium. Respect and work within photography’s limitations and you will go much further." - Donovan Wylie.
The "ego" thing is important and I think probably a cause of some of your malaise. Perhaps now more than ever, we all like to get a little praise but to stick with Photography long-term it's vitally important to enjoy taking photographs, and for you yourself to like the photographs you take before anybody else likes them ... all the Wow comments in the world won't keep you satisfied if your work isn't your own, a real expression of yourself and your interests.
"Photograph things you really care about, things that really interest you, not things you feel you ought to do.” - Chris Steele-Perkins.
Look at those magazines, and look at books too - galleries if there are any nearby, and identify the photographs that really appeal to you, the ones you stay looking at that while longer. Printing your photos is good too. Make some extra prints of your personal favourite pictures. Not the ones with the most likes. The ones, looking back now, that you are most satisfied with and of which you want to make more.
What are these things that you want to photograph? It wasn't clear to me from your post. You said you're not taking portraits like you thought - do you mean that you aren't taking them, or that the ones you take aren't to your satisfaction? If it's the latter, there are lots of useful articles and tutorials from portrait photographers around to learn from if that's what you need. You could also consider a workshop rather than new gear.
It's good that you're looking honestly at your photography and at yourself, that's to be applauded. I'd advise going deeper still, deeper than the gear. What you identified in some of your motivations and dissatisfaction with some work is important, and isn't to do with the gear.
That said, an everyday carry camera could be useful for figuring these things out, but you needn't spend a lot of money or sell anything just yet - a second-hand X100/X100S/X100T could do the trick - it might help with what Alec Soth advises, that you try everything, and that all great photographers, and aspiring ones, advise, that you keep taking pictures. Taking pictures is the key to figuring it all out ... by taking photographs and carefully analysing what it is you're shooting, what it is you see and what you like to photograph, you can go to the next step. Cameras are tools for this, and it is important to have the right tool for the job - but I think we need to figure out what the job is first before we can decide on the tool here.
I mean all of the above in a helpful spirit and hope for it to read as such. All the best,
Owain.
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