Help with offsetting to drop text and how to outline just the outline of text shape and not letters

Hi, I am trying to adapt the text in this stock ai file I licensed on Adobe Stock: File: 1095651026. Unfortunately, the text isn't editable - it is all now in paths and compound paths. I am trying to recreate it and have figured some of it out, and am making myself crazy on other parts.

Here is what I have done mostly successfully:

1. Create light grey text with white outline

2. Copy this and make it white text with white outline

3. Use a clipping mask to slice the grey text with white outline in half horizontally

4. Place this over the white on white text to get they effect of the stock example - ISSUE: This all looks decent BUT adding the white outline makes the glyphs thicker than I really want them. I would rather the outline happen within the shape of the glyphs rather than outside of them, expanding them. Is there a way to achieve this?
   
   

Here is where I am stuck:

5. Copy a navy version of the text
6. Use "offset path" with mitre joins to try to replicate the dropped text in the stock example - ISSUE: this offsets ALL around the text and doesn't look like the example. I have tried every way I can think of to get it to offset only in one direction, but I can only get it to offset everywhere. How can I get it just to offset in one direction, like a drop shadow would??
7. Once that is solved, i want to outline all of the navy in a thin grey line like in the stock example - ISSUE: how do I do this? I tried outlining the letters but that outlines in between them too, not just around the shape.

Thank you for your help!!!