Questions
Why did I do step 1 and 2? That could have been done in one step, unless I'm missing something now.
Certainly you could do it in one single step. Probably you didn't notice BIP-38 encryption option at first, thus , applied it afterwards
Questions
Does BIP38 encryption always produce the same encrypted key,
Yeas, providing, providing it is properly coded.
Questions
could the same privkey and passphrase produce a different encrypted string if I use different software?
Yes, providing the different software is intentionally designed to produce a different encrypted string (the aim being to steal your fund) , known to person, who is behind this software,