CS,
so you seem to answer me that yes, older generation did not support the rebbe-moschiach movement, or at least, was divided into two groups? This explanation makes sense, as I was mostly listening to older people, and most of them were not part of the new movement. I think this should give you a pause, though – how come people who were right there did not share your views that are based on viewing videos and explanations of them. This violates Kuzari principle – a belief based on evidence starting with people who saw the evidence firsthand.
And you can’t dismiss that generation as some dor hamidbar. If we are talking about elderly people in the 90s, they were with L Rebbe for 50 years of his leadership, educated by him, they had early memories of alter heim, and they spent most of their lives in US, so I think they saw a big picture.