If you've made the decision that you will continue on in this job for another 8 years regardless, nothing I can say will stop you.

For me, my quality of life today is too important to commit another 8 years to that kind of existence, pension or no pension.

The next time you're tempted to report problems to higher-ups, remember this experience - where this time, the squeaky wheel didn't get grease, it just got a spotlight put on it instead. That's usually enough to prevent another incident.

I would take a vacation now no matter whether your job will be done or not while you're gone - and just deal with it when I come back. But if you're going to worry over that while away, maybe a vacation isn't necessary.