Yeah, my feet also start to feel like I've walked through a swamp when wearing waterproof boots for an extended period of time. It has never really damaged my feet but I just wanted to try moving in a different direction because of this. I already have trail runners which are fine for some situations, but my comfort level is with boots. I work commercial construction so I'm use to slogging around in heavy leather boots. Leather hiking boots feel like there is nothing there compared to work boots.

My reason for wanting leather boots is for multiple reasons. First and least important is that they are aesthetically pleasing to me. Obviously they are a very durable option. I suppose the most important reason is the inherent water resistance leather provides since I'm looking for something that does not have a waterproof liner. From my experience a leather boot with no waterproof liner is better than a boot with mesh construction and a liner with a hole in it.

Do the split grain/synthetic/mesh constructed boots with Gore-Tex liners breath any better than their leather counterparts? My guess would be slightly but you would then be fully relying on the liner to provide the protection.