I feel like I owe you money for your reply, that was fantastic. Thanks for taking the time to do that.
Much of what you described is exactly what I'm thinking. You know much more theory than I do, but basically I've gotten to the same point of feeling like I'm banging my head against a wall trying to get an advantage.
I started going through Chessbase last night looking for 5.Bg5 alternatives (which prompted this thread) and was surprised to find how popular 5.Bf4 has become. I thought it was an older line because I'd seen Capablanca and those guys play it, but it has been played quite a bit in 2011 and 2012 by all the big names. Like you said, they must be looking for alternatives to 5.Bg5.
A normal QGD game for me goes like this: equality out of the opening, push too hard to try and create something that isn't there in the middlegame, and then lose because of the weaknesses I've made trying to force an attack of some kind. It's really getting frustrating. Like you said, seemingly EVERYTHING gives black equality against 5.Bg5. Just yesterday I lost a game to a lower rated player because he got instant equality out of the opening and as usual, I pushed too hard and lost.
I think I might give Bf4 a shot for a while, if for no other reason than to mix up the play and get some new positions. Really do appreciate the help, and if you come across some magic QGD antidote please let me know
Haha.