One thing that has seemingly changed for SQL server 2016 is the licensing cost... $14,256 per core now??? Or is that only in a 2-pack?

That's for a 2-core pack with Software Assurance (maintenance), so it's roughly half that. It's the same cost it's been since SQL Server 2012 when Microsoft switched to per-core licensing.

Prior to that, it was per-socket, but still roughly the same cost for quad-core servers.