I mean SURE if it's completely ruined let me know your postal info .... hehehe... seriously though thanks, I mean it's not a HUGE gouge per say but running my finger over it I could definitely feel that it's not level, so probably a small-ish gouge but as "TempestCatto" said - "That's what thermal paste is for. It will get into those groves and create a point of contact between that scratch in the IHS and the cold plate of the CPU cooler." so I'm holding onto that for reassurance... but also, I used Corsair TM30 for my thermal paste and cleaned it with isopropyl alcohol and then wiped with a coffee filter, that wouldn't cause any corrosion would it or degrade the ISH at all? Cause im just trying to put logic into how it would've happened, I wasn't using much force when cleaning either just enough to wipe the old paste away.... it is a mystery, but as long as it's working then that's really the silver lining.
Thank you all for your feedback, this is my first post on here and no one else had any threads relating to my situation. If I ever need to donate this CPU you got first dibs though glennhl