I feel you on the prioritizing enjoyment and IV being super overrated

First month i caught a really high IV, really low CP bulbasaur and when i finally had the candy to evolve, of course I went with him. every bulbasaur (not that common here) for the next month or so went into feeding it. It was a chore and I was never satisfied, still had so much more to go before he could even come close to battling. Just plain not fun. Ridiculous amount of candy and stardust later and I just catch another Venusaur randomly thats still 400 CP higher, and better quick move to attack (they both had solar beam). Mid-level IV, first thought was to transfer, but it just seemed wrong.

It was then I did the proper research as to how much IV effects battling (sooooooo very little) and difference at highest levels (couple 100 CP, maybe 10 HP) Now, IV is the last thing I consider. Especially when i'm paying 6000 a half-level for 30+ bumps. Spending near 100K just to get a high IV pokemon battle acceptable is not an option, and would make it boring and tedious again.

TL:DR: Dont level up high IV, low level pokemon - it makes you stardust broke and the game not fun.