Maybe theres a simple fix for this?

[Helmholtz]

And that's why I was confused about the reported current drain. But daz cleared that up.

As for the diodes and any additional current... I'm not schooled on the tech but my understanding is that any forward voltage drop is at the same current the circuit is using. That's why I said the battery life should be the same dropped through the diodes as it was without them. So the diodes actually DO dissipate the dropped voltage. Right? Otherwise where did it go

In a pure series circuit there is only one and the same current through all series connected components.
The series diodes drop around 0.6V each and thus dissipate a little power (0.6V times a few mA load current).
The battery only sees the load current, which is essentially the same with or without the diodes.
Without the diodes the pedal would dissipate a little more power, corresponding to essentially the same current but higher voltage.
(Dissipation always refers to power.)