Several carriers (most?) give you zero credit for your helo time. IMO you need to compare your resume as a civilian resume with prior military service.

Getting back into the saddle and cranking out hours(recent experience) with hopefully a quick upgrade is a good plan. The first road block you're facing is the lack of a four year degree. Out of all the guys hired I just saw the second or third announcement of a non four year degree guy hired. That's a really small pool and I'd assume that their resumes were impressive in other areas.

I recommend guys look at multi year plans. What's your resume look like in 1,2,3,4,5 years if you do plan A? Or plan B? If you're not competitive now work on a plan that makes you competitive when all the squares are filled at some year in the future.

Good luck.