Just thought I'd add something to the mix! I know you don't want vinyl because it's cheap, buuuttttt, would you consider a vinyl with a wood look? We have Earthwerks vinyl with a wood look in our kitchen and dining room. I love the look of laminate and wood, but was too afraid my dog (large boxer) and sliding chairs would scratch it up over time. After three years I still LOVE this floor! Here comes my commercial... it does not scratch -at all. I've pushed my piano across it many times and nada. It's also stood up to our boxer and sliding chairs. It has a texture to it and it's easy to clean, but like wood or laminate, it does show pet hair a bit easier. Seriously people think it's laminate if they didn't know better. It is glued down directly to the subfloor. Supposedly the planks areeasily replaceable if damaged.

My parents downsized for the 4th time and their latest house has LVP. It looks nice in their house and they picked a medium brown tone, so not a trendy color. Their last 2 houses had tile and houses before that had hardwood. I built last year and installed engineered wood floors through most of the house. I kept an open mind and did take a look at LVP when doing my research, but I didn't like the look and my DH hated how they sounded when he walked on large sample areas installed in the flooring showrooms. These days you are seeing the LVP being installed in higher end homes here in FL and buyers seem to accept it just fine, specially closer to the beaches. A couple of years ago I had started seeing the ceramic core floors with a wood veneer in Los Angeles, specially for mid/high end flips.

The backing is cork so I am not surprised by a vapor barrier requirement. We are having it put down throughout our new home and will be glad to be 100% tile and grout free for the first time in our lives :) I have some old samples that I've tried to damage. It is very difficult to scratch or gouge, the only way I was able to pit it was to take a decent swing at it with a sharp tool that had some weight to it. Makes me wonder if we'll even want or need to fuss around with felt pads under everything (they seem to be magnets for dirt, hair, fur, or whatever floats around before you have a chance to sweep it up.)

I also live in Texas, and I wouldn't install anything other than a stone composite product here. Vinyl is finicky with heat, and the less movement you have in the floor the better. The stone composite products are less likely to move. You may still need to have your floor worked on in order for it to be flat enough for a vinyl plank installation. Once you get the current flooring up, it you can tell flatness a lot better. Use a 10' piece of 2 x 4 that is straight, and run it around your floors. Anywhere that there is a gap of 3/6" or larger within that space needs to be flattened.