I call this bullshit! Why does it matter if the account shows 'recently woken up' if you do not plan on using it anymore? And even if you do continue using it, that alone doesnt impact your reputation. Anyone can see from the post history that the account has been inactive for a long time. The same applies to changing the password. Also, why does waking up an account involve changing its password? Thats bullshit reasoning that has nothing to do with logic.
Exactly this; I also don't understand the OP's concerns. You're supposedly concerned about an old account that you're not going to use and want it to be tagged, without having provided the necessary proof that the account is under your ownership yet. Why is it such a big issue to have your account tagged as recently woken up? You can prove it's still in your possession by signing a message from one of the BTC addresses you've used in the past. I've been inactive twice and wasn't bothered by the wake-up tag. I had nothing to worry about and still have access to the address I used back in my first years of registration.
Since you're mentioning that you have access to those addresses, just go ahead and try recovering your account; resetting your password shouldn't worry you too much, although I understand that you wouldn't want a wake-up tag along with a reset password. I also acknowledge your concern with merit acquisition, but I'd consider yourself lucky that you're getting a 250 merit head start bonus and starting out as a Sr. Member rank. There are also two campaigns, which I'm not going to name, that are likely to accept you if you're interested in them, which will help you slowly build your account back. You won't be able to do that as a newbie. I've been in your place, and I was also an Sr. Member when I quit the forum. I started practically from scratch, having only acquired 2 merits when the system was introduced, and now I've managed to rank up to Hero Member with no particular issues and faster than I was expecting when I first started.
Prove ownership of the account through signed messages or whichever method works best, and keep using the account. If you're able to provide everything necessary, no one will ever accuse you of alt accounting, and even if someone does, the claims will be quickly dropped as you would have already proven yourself.