Dude, I've been avoiding the IRS for over 4 years, just dropped off the face of the earth basically...
I'm sure I owe, between state and fed, at least 10K in back taxes myself. Not quite so bad as yours, but still ... its enough to be very scary, esp. with whatever penalties are involved, I shudder to think ...
Sooner or later, gonna have to do the same type of reparations you're working on myself. My credit score is probably like -200 at this point ... 4.5 years ago, I was buying myself a condo with my 760 score, too... GOD do I wish I'd stayed 'in' instead of deciding I could handle being 'out', since I wasn't 'really an addict' back then...
I feel your pain.
But we all must remember this incredibly insightful tidbit of ancient wisdom:
There's nothing life can throw at you that can't be made MUCH WORSE by picking up ...