I saw Dr. Heffez today and he figured out what has been causing my neck pain!
I would be jumping up and down right now if it wouldn't hurt! :-)
Here is what is happening (it is not at all what I thought it was): in my cervical spine, my spinal cord is positioned right up against the back of my vertebrae, without the normal space and fluid separating the soft bits from the hard bits. This means that when I bend my neck, my bones compress my spinal cord and cause pain.
No wonder the medications and topical creams the NL gave me aren't helping!
I would like to say a big thanks to everyone here, especially Beeba and jcdemar, because my response to wearing a rigid cervical collar was a big factor in my diagnosis. I feel so vindicated!
So, the plan is to wear the collar for three more weeks and report in - the hope is that I will still be having the same major relief as I am now. Next will be a cervical epidural steroid injection for further pain relief/diagnostics and then possibly a laminoplasty to give my poor spinal cord more room to live in. Dr. Heffez said that he has had positive results with that surgery in patients with my problem.
I can't believe that after all of this time I FINALLY have a real game plan to follow. Hurray!