You're right, sense of smell is more important. Luckily, it tastes as horrible as it smells which means there's no confusion there, and I'm certain you would agree if you could only taste it. But then again, maybe I have that long covid and my senses are out of whack forever (ha).Taste buds are only a fraction of the perception of taste and it is not uncommon at all for people to experience a taste differently.
Have you tried comparing your brew to a close commercial version, do you perceive the taste in only your brew?
Also, you mention you didn't taste at bottling. That might be a good tool for isolating the origin of the off taste.
Try tasting Strike water, First Wort, Boiled wort, cooled wort into the fermentor and just after pitching pre-ferment. You might be able to identify when it is introduced and that will help narrow the scope of the investigation.
I like beer. I've been drinking beer for a long time, and I've tried lots of types of it. The taste can only mean that something is horribly wrong, and only a few people agree because I'm only willing to let a few people taste it. There is nothing to compare the taste to except substances that don't belong in it.