receiving iMessage but not able to send iMessage

I got a new iPhone 13, it worked very well, then I updated to the 15.2 and now I am unable to send iMessages but I am able to receive them. I've talked to 5 different Apple specialists trying everything from network settings to iMessage settings, I have tried to reset my iPhone multiple times, I've erased the phone, I've set up manually without restoring from backup, I've created a whole new Apple ID. Not a single thing seems to be working. SMS messages are working fine, only having issues with iMessage. Therefore, not a carrier issue. There are 2 contacts I am able to send iMessage to but every single other person sends as SMS. Their responses come through as iMessage but I am unable to respond without it kicking it to an SMS message. There seems to be a disconnect between my apple ID and my phone number because my Apple ID works perfectly fine on my other devices. Please help! Everyone I've talked to seems to be stumped. Waiting on Apple engineers for help but wondering if anyone has any solutions.