The Messaging app was updated on 11/30/2017 and that is specifically when this problem started. It looks like some people in this thread noticed the issue after the December CU, but for me it started the same day Messaging was updated. So I'm not surprised at all that your fix was to install the previous version.
Is there any way to do this without Interop?
I'm having a difficult time finding who I should be contacting at MS with regards to this problem. SMS is a basic functionality of a phone and this is a problem that is difficult to work with. And we're approaching living with it for nearly 2 months now. I was aggravated that they'd update the app right before the holidays because that's generally the time of the year where the staff is down to barebones and very few updates are pushed out because nobody is around to correct problems if they arise. But I figured since it was done that I'd probably have to live with it throughout the month of December. And reports of the issue are all over the Messaging section of the Feedback hub.
But it's time to get Microsoft's attention on this issue. If anyone knows who I might try to contact I would greatly appreciate it.