I finally found the backup I wrote down after using Gavin Andresen's Bitcoin faucet.
I wasn't around back then, but the faucet didn't give you a private key, right? Just to confirm you're really looking for the wallet you used.
If it's HEX, it's not Armory:
- Armory Root Key: 18 four letter "words".
Example (from bitkee.com): eoaj gghu ruaf ghwe jnrh ftuu hweu aeun agkg tudt waja gunn oawg jkwh dhei hjdn itar naoj
Use Armory.
Great theories. Here is the exact format I wrote it in, but I changed all the characters. I do remember maybe converting it to hex or binary, or at least considering it.
0486 | 4AE5 | 41BC
A58F | 3FBA | 1AD7
34F6 | 2AEB
37A4 | 4AAF
7?A4 | ?42? | 6F?? | ??D8
71?D | 6?A? | ?FCA | 86B?
32?F
7F?B
It doesn't look like any format I've ever seen. I've seen many stories from people who couldn't figure out how they stored their Bitcoins anymore, so I think your best bet is trying really hard to remember what you did. That's tough after so long.