gfretwell wrote: I am still not sure why he couldn't ground the service in one of the disconnects with a #2 and be done with it.
That's exactly what he should do. As long as the neutral is sized equal to or above the 250.66 size, it can ground either or both panels. Just because you are permitted to run GEC taps doesn't mean you have to.
Also, what size service entrance conductors were run on the line side of the meter? Need to make sure that a #2 is large enough by examining all of the SE conductors.