Well, sometimes I post things with confidence, after trying to ensure I've gathered the right info, and then have to retract and update.

Boarding positions that are "pre-assigned" (A-List, Early Bird, traveling on same PNR with A-list, Companions, etc.) are NOT recycled.

However, boarding positions assigned at normal checkin (starting at the 24 hour mark) ARE recycled.
Additionally, Business Select boarding positions can also be re-assigned, to another Business Select Customer or, with upgraded boarding - necessary since there are only 15 spots.

This still preserves the benefit for those that are pre-assigned, which was the main goal - to not let the "I forgot to checkin ahead of time" folks get ahead of those who had pre-assign benefits.

This was not how myself, and others that I had reached out to original understood it, however, with examples provided from all of you, the answer we got back was that it was working as designed, with this new clarification.

So, all of you helped to educate me on what the actual policy is. Sorry for the confusion.