Hey rpr,
Unfortunately I am in the same boat with you this year, as I did not match either, after hearing from many people that I should not have a problem. I am also from a school without an ENT program that has not had much luck matching applicants in the past, and the local ENT physicians are seemingly too busy to be actively involved with any research at this time (or perhaps no longer interested?) As a result, I have sought out research projects on my own during my two away rotations, and came away with a first-author case report and second-author review research article (both ENT), along with another first-author non-ENT research project I completed third year.
I got a 245/237 (I really hope my Step 2 doesn't can me during reapplication), and was in the top 20% of my class (just missed AOA). I also just missed honors in IM & surg, and my school does not have high pass. I was offered 5 interviews, all of which I attended, but did not match.
I did match into a preliminary surgery position, where I am going to work my butt off and hope to make some connections for better LORs. I was told a few times during my interviews that I have good LORs, but there's always room for improvement.
As far as I could tell, my away rotations & interviews went well and I seemed to get along well with the residents and staff. I do know, however, that I can be a bit quiet at times, which has been misconstrued as arrogance, aloofness, or a sign of apathy in the past - which could not be further from the truth! It's difficult to say if the interviews didn't go well, since the interviewers tend to be so friendly and don't really show if the interview wasn't successful.
So basically, I commiserate with you and hope better luck for us both next year. In addition, looking at the info I provided, I was hoping maybe for some feedback from residents or others who read this site for areas that I could still improve in the future, because I do know that ENT is what I fell in love with and want to pursue. I'll just have to give it another go I guess.
Good luck.