I don't know for sure. People say Ed Visas always draw more attention from Immigration. If you can find a job that may be more suitable or keep doing border runs and 60 day tourist visas until Immingration shuts you down. There are people on here who have lived here for years doing that. Anyway good luck.
Unfortunately all that is irrelevant in Thailand. A retirement visa is for people 50 and over. There are Education Visas, Non B Visa if you have a job in Thailand. Other long term visas with high financial requirements. Best to take a peek at the Thai Embassy website in the US for visa types and requirements. Thank you for your service from a retired Army NCO.
if you want to use the monthly income method for your retirement visa you have to do a monthly deposit of I believe 65k baht into your Thai account every month for a year. You can use the monthly income method for your 2d year extension. But it must have been deposited every month for a whole year before you can switch.
I just took a look at your previous post.. you have quite an extensive history of Covid extensions, visa exempts, 60 day tourist visa, etc. Best you plan for a denied entry in case.