Made some questionable decisions regarding academics and wondering if my ECs will help close the gap

I think your chances are better than the overall average acceptance rate which will have a good number of 0 chance candidates in the denominator. That having been said, course rigor relative to what your school offers is a critical factor for these and any top schools, much more important than EC’s. Have you considered taking the SAT2 English since you made a 5 on the AP Language exam? There is no reason you have to submit 2 STEM SAT2’s except for MIT.