You're right they are. And since you tried patching and replacing, that's not the answer. But you problem is most likely that you're not getting to this file anyway. There was an outside chance that you were getting into to it and then being redirected away. This can be tested by inserting some debug statements into it.
But first, what is the URL that appears bottom left of your browser when you hover over the admin settings link in the admin menu?
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