What are my options for making a stout dark?

In my first stout, I used some black patent. At first it had this horridly acrid taste to it, but after about a month, it settled into this really nice toasty flavor.

Can anybody give me some insight into my SRM > 200 options and how they compare?

You only need a light amount of black patent to get a nice dark stout. From the sounds of things you might have gone a bit heavy or experienced another issue. I use black patent in my stouts and don't really have a problem with bitter/astringent flavors.

You also have the option of using debittered black malt and Sinimar
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=6555

Special B is pretty dark and has a nice flavor and smell, however not much is needed. Roasted Malt is also pretty dark... Also try some Crystal 120L or 150L... With any dark malt not much is needed to achieve your goal... There's also Chocolate malt which is pretty dark.

200 SRM??? that's going way off the deepend, considering somewhere around 35 or 40 light stops going through it all together...

chocolate malt, black patent, carafa all work.

What's the deal with carafa?

Carafa is de-husked before roasting. Much less harshness, because the carbonized cellulose is missing. Carafa III is often used in Schwartzbier.

When they talk about debittered black malt. Is that one of the types that has been listed above? Or is it it's own thing? Or could it be any of the above?

Wouldn't black barley (unmalted) give you all the color you need in a stout? The style guidelines practically require you to use it in a stout.

Whats the residual alkalinity of your water like? I think this is key to being able to make a black as night stout without getting that acrid flavor. You need to have enough alkalinity to balance out the acidity of the roasted grains. Chapter 15 at howtobrew.com is a great read. John (Rock Candy) Palmer actually had a really neat seminar/tasting on this at NHC this year. I've had a really acrid flavor in any beer over SRM ~25 and I think it was because my RA was too low in Ann Arbor. Here in Madison, I think I could brew an SRM 500 beer with no problems at all!

Roasted Barley. That's the traditional ingredient in stout. In my last stout I used 8.5 lbs of 2 row, 0.5 lb Rosted Barley, 0.5 lb Chocolate malt, and 0.5 lb Flaked Barley. It has a nice roast flavor without being overpowering. If you want more roasted flavor you could go up to a pound of roasted barley. Simple dry stout recipes can be as easy as 90% Base Malt and 10% Roasted Barley.

I use 8oz. Roasted Barley, 8oz. Chocolate Malt, and 12oz. Special B.

The Roasted Barley gives it a nice espresso flavor.

I'm pretty sure, traditionally, roasted barley is a requirement for a true "stout" now you can make porters and dark beers with plenty of other malts... I could be completely wrong, just for some reason I believe I read that somewhere.

This was my last extract brew that I did and it came out pretty much black as night...

Malts
6 pounds light DME
3/4 pound Caramel 60L
1/4 lb. 120L
1/2 lb. Organic chocolate malt
1/2 lb. Carafa II malt
1/4 lb. roasted barley

Hops
1.5 oz Saaz (60)

Yeast
WLP002 English Ale Yeast

Extras
1 tsp Irish Moss (15 minutes)
A blend of:
4oz Lactose, disolved in 2 cups of boiled water
2-3 oz real vanilla extract
Added to the secondary and stirred.