There are 40 lines of code in the following try-except clause:
try: # Load Pickle parameter dict to save processing time
That means any error within these many commands will give no error message and the same result: The .dat file is not read and all parameter files are re-read.
Consider a introducing a leaner exception handling here, or add more error messages at least!
Not sure whether it's good style to have nexted try-except clauses...