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Welcome!
From having grown up not too far from your area (southern Gasconade County), I can tell you that a large portion of south-central Missouri simply doesn't offer the option for reliable OTA reception. The distances are often too great, the terrain can be wicked, and sporadic reception is about as good as it's ever going to get.
Let's get a few more details so we can understand what's happened, perhaps that will provide insight going forward.
Can you specifically identify which UHF 8-bay and which CM preamp you have been using?
Are you now or are you able in the future willing to use a rotor? That might offer improved odds of Fox out of Lebanon or PBS out of Sedalia, for example.
Do you have a more modern TV set with a presumably improved tuner? Older tuners often offer poor performance when compared to those of recent vintage.
Does your tower location offer a tree-free signal path in the required directions? Weak UHF signals and trees usually means frustration, especially when the trees leaf out.
Do you have some wiggle room in that budget?
I would recommend waiting 2-4 weeks before committing to any purchases, we'll know then what the new post-repack channel assignments will be and there's no sense in installing a system that might end up needing tweaking to accommodate changes that might occur.
The RG11 or the hardline aren't necessary if the preamp is installed in the proper location in the system, RG6 or QS is fine.
I'd stay away from all of the UHF Yagis and the off-brand 8-Bays as all of them are tuned to peak up in the cellular bands. Plus, with the looming spectrum repack, all of those existing old designs are going to be even poorer choices once stations currently above channel 36 relocate to lower frequencies over the next 3+ years.
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