I've tried your suggested experiment to keep all chord voicings within an octave (to get out of "stuck in root position block chords land"). But now I've encountered a problem: certain major 7ths are becoming flat 2's, which sometimes makes me cringe even in midrange. I googled a potential solution, "stride piano," which requires insanely frustrating left hand precision.
i don't see how stride piano has any relevance to this issue