Figuring out the date of last delinquency

I need to know how to go about getting a bad tradeline off my husband's CR. Back in 2004 we didn't know much about credit repair. All we did was pay people off. A company called Van Rue contacted us with a settlement offer (and I quote: "...we have been authorized to accept a settlement in full in the amount of $814. Upon clearance of your check payment(s), this account will be settled in full.). Their "client" was Plains Commerce. We paid it.

Now here's the thing. We didn't know about SOL. I recently went through all our paperwork. The OC was Providian and it was charged of in 1997, possibly 1996. In 1998 it went to the Credit Store. The only paperwork I have from them is one letter that says the Credit Store now owns your Providian debt. There is an offer on the front to pay off your debt and on the back it says the offer expires on 5/23/2002 or upon the sale of the account to a third party. We didn't take that offer.

Anyway, the debt then went to Plains Commerce on 6/2002. The entire debt was $1413 and we settled for $814 leaving $599 as a wash I guess. Maybe two months later we started getting collection letters from a new CA about the $599 saying their client is the Credit store. In early 2005 we were getting a home loan and the woman helping us with the loan application called the CAs (two) to tell them to remove it which they did. In december 2005 we got yet another letter from a new CA. I wrote a really nasty letter and the debt finally disappeared for good.

This is the thing, the original debt was in 1996 or '97. Plains Commerce is saying the account was opened in 2002 and then they are saying there are all these late payment up until March '04 and then a bunch of lates again and that the account was charged off in '05. They are at least reporting the account as settled with no balance but they are saying the date of last delinquency is in '04. Did our settlement redate the account? If not how do go about getting the account off the CR?