@donaldtoo , I'm hoping that your foot feels better soon. Any family history of gout, or RA (rheumatoid arthritis)? When you said it affected more than one spot on your foot, that got me to thinking about RA-type symptoms (also, sometimes gout and RA can even overlap. although that's less common). I can understand your frustration with the medical team, as you felt gyped that you didn't get to see an MD. That's becoming more the norm these days with skyrocketing medical expenses, although some of the NPs and PAs can also be quite good.
You can always insist on an MD if you feel you're not getting the appropriate treatment. (Now you may have to wait longer, or book out in the future, to see an MD, but it's an option.) Remember, you're a patient and also a paying customer. You and your insurance company are shelling out big bucks for your care, so (within reason), if you weren't thrilled with the first tier of medical clinicians, insist on seeing an MD. It does sound like they ran the usual tests for gout, etc., so the results from those tests will certainly be helpful, no matter what.
