Toilet is leaking at front and floor after new seal and tank guts

[De-Don]

It's been a while since I visited so, Hi, all.
I have a 23 year old Peerless (my guess is a builder grade) Toilet.
After discovering water on the floor-more than I had when I first discovered the leak, I first replaced the old wax seal with another, new, regular thickness wax seal. (The flange height is AT floor surface level.) This did not solve the problem. I couldn't get the wax seal to stick to the toilet so I centered it on the 3" flange hole and carefully placed the toilet on center. When I removed the toilet the second time after discovering the continuing leak, the new wax seal appeared to be symmetrically compressed by the toilet and no water residue appeared around the seal or on the bottom of the toilet.
Suspecting a possible tank-to-bowl problem, I purchased a complete toilet repair kit (a Korky QuietFILL Platinum Complete Kit) and replace all of the water tank guts, tank-to-bowl (sponge gasket), bolts, etc. I also thought that I would try newer technology and installed a Fluidmaster 7530 Toilet Seal Kit "Better Than Wax" sealing system. I used both pieces in the kit, following directions.
All of that was done yesterday. Today, I had wet area rugs and, after cleaning that up, an hour later, I took the picture of the leak in the front of the toilet. Before I go out and purchase another WAX seal, I'm here, asking for some advice. I'm a little nervous about adding food coloring to the water since the bowl is 23 years old but, I will if that is the next step. I just don't know if the surface inside the bowl is porous enough to permanently stain it. It's still shiny but, has some mineral/rust stains.
I'm now suspecting that, although the instructions directed to "hand-tighten" the Mounting Nut, I wonder if I should have used a wrench on it to get another small amount of torque (I have plenty of strength and grip to take off the most difficult of jar lids, etc. but, this is just a second-guess thing.) on it. There is NO leak VISIBLE between the tank and the bowl, although it still sits with a fair gap between the tank and the bowl=not touching each other at the porcelain ridge on the top of the bowl, under the tank. (This sort of gap leaves the tank not feeling secure although the tank bolts are evenly tight and it is not "wobbly." It does look like it is leaning to the right a little.)
I've shut off the water and emptied the tank but, before I proceed, I thought I would ask for any advice that you feel would be helpful. Thanks

 

[havasu]

How did you "seat" the wax ring? Does it leak all the time, or just when you flush it? Is the water disappearing from the tank when the toilet is not used? What color is the leak? Unfortunately, without more answers, it is hard to help you. By the way, are you removing the shelf behind the toilet when you are seating the toilet?

 

[De-Don]

Thanks for your reply, havasu. After posting, I took the toilet off again. This time I used the green rubber no wax seal and haven't had another leak. This type of seal allows for adjustments without messing up any seal (when using a wax seal).
It leaked over the first night without any flushes. When I took off the 7530 Toilet seal kit, the slid on spacer had depressed one side more than the other. I took a closer look at the floor flange. The ring with the slots for the toilet anchor bolts appeared to be tilted slightly to one side. Two of the four screws that held it to the floor had no bite in the floor board. I didn't take them out and replace them with longer screws because I assumed the flooring under the flange was water damaged and I might be opening up a can of worms. The slots were both a little distorted by previous efforts by someone that had applied too much torque on the nuts when tightening down the toilet. With the green rubber seal, I felt I would get the most "sealing" action and so far, so good.
I leveled the toilet by using spacers and tightened the tank-bowl bolts another turn and a half. Now, there is no wiggle when I grab the tank and the tank and bowl are level. I think I have all of the previous issues fixed, now.
If I ever need to get in there again, I'll attempt to replace the current flange. The pipes, below, are PVC and the lower part of the flange is PVC. Is that probably glued in? If so, I won't know how to replace it, if any leaking re-occurs.
BTW, no, I did not move the shelf. I was able to straddle the whole toilet and, with the tank under the shelf and with the tank lid off, I had sufficient vertical space to drop it onto the screws. Again, this last type of seal that I used is more forgiving and I believe that I have everything properly aligned and sealed, now.
Thanks again for your input.

 

[havasu]

Awesome news!

 

[De-Don]

Just a heads-up for future readers:
The First picture was showing the gap between the tank and the bowl after the kit repair and BEFORE I continued to tighten the tank bolts while holding the nuts, underneath at the back of the bowl.
The second picture shows the water on the floor an hour after full assembly and turning the water on. It's hard to see but, the clear water puddle is in front going from center-to-right. I flushed it four times but, the water appeared later.
The third picture shows was a cock-eyed mess I had done but NOT using shims and not leveling, left-to-right and front-to-back. Yep. I lousy job, indeed.
I didn't take pictures after the last seal install and leveling but, I looks a great deal better, now, AND there is not leak.