The belief that protein consumption leads to high uric acid levels has pretty much been debunked.

It's high levels of carbs that seem to trigger that. It could be that your diet sodas were spiking your insulin levels. Given that the exact mechanism for excess uric acid accumulation is unknown, blaming it on meat seems to me to be just a knee jerk reaction by doctors.

But, for sure, I'd certainly increase my water intake before I made any other dietary changes, and give that a couple weeks to see what happens. Brandy, looks like you found the solution for you.