Ye olde stuck in 'connect to itunes' after attempting to restore to factory

Question

Hi everyone.
(I'm sure you've all seen this problem a gazillion times, and in-before-anyone-says "use the search feature", I have done, extensively all day, and have gotten nowhere despite applying the advice)
I've been gifted an iPhone 4, which was locked to EE. Online guide from Vodafone claimed that choosing to 'restore' your iphone via iTunes would restore to factory and remove the lock. Unfortunately what seems to have happened is, iTunes has attempted to update me to latest iOS, and in the process something has gone horribly wrong, now I'm stuck on the 'connect to itunes' logo. Connecting to my computer results in iTunes error message saying: "Your iPhone can't be updated; you must restore it to factory settings. If you previously backed up the iPhone, click Restore Backup after the restore process completes."
After completing the loading bar for 'Extracting software' I keep getting an error code 3014 which I've been able to ascertain is usually a connectivity issue. So far I have:
Put phone into DFU mode as it crashed on the Apple logo (with a grey line beneath), which is what imo created this loop
Setup port forwarding for all ports necessary for iTunes / iCloud
Attempted to use 3rd-party program to Exit Recovery mode, worked but then went straight back into recovery mode.
Disabled my firewall (Comodo) during attempt, still results in error code 3014
Created a new user profile with admin priviliges, error code 3014
Attempted to install an older firmware in case it's trying to update me to iOS8 or above, error code 3014
Reset my hosts file, zero entries yet again, error code 3014
I'm now at a complete loss as to what to try next... something tells me 'throwing at wall' or 'jumping up and down on' will not be viable solutions to the issue! Would greatly appreciate some help from the community.
Oh also worth mentioning, I don't have another PC or access to one at the mo to see if it's my PC's settings that are causing the issue.

Answer 1

Check this support document, if you haven't, for some additional troubleshooting steps. http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201442
If that will not do it, you can take a look at this and see if Recovery mode helps. If you can't update or restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support
The last resort would be to make an appointment at the Genius Bar of the nearest Apple Store or Authorized Apple Service Provider for assistance in restoring.