They have tried really hard, have made it a completely different site than what they bought and driven out the original base.

You haven't been looking hard enough if you believe Reddit is still the same it was pre-API bullshit.

Fake comments, more pliable moderators, dead subreddits are everywhere now.

I don't like the changes any more than you do, but as far as I can tell the API boycotts have had zero impact on the subreddits I follow.

They’re working on it.

Are people still on Reddit since last summer?

Yes, a lot of people, but anecdotally I know a lot of “long-time Redditors” who stopped using Reddit after the API fiasco. I, for one, never returned and only use HN now.

Same story here. It's a shame.