google account recovery keeps saying it couldn't verify it's me

Yes, the device matters a lot, probably more than the answers. Use a laptop or tablet you've been signed in on before, on your home wifi, in the browser you normally use. Google is checking whether this looks like you. Stop retrying for now. Lots of attempts in a row makes it more suspicious, not less. Give it a few days. When you try again, enter the most recent password you can remember even if it's old, and for any question you don't know, guess close rather than skip. If you get your phone number back on a new SIM from your carrier, that's often the easiest way in.