I'm on my iPad right now, so apologies if I'm missing something, however the only haze I see in the pics looks like it's the effect from ENB.
Have you tried disabling ENB and is the haze still there?
I've never had any issue flying outside the enabled Orbx region using GEX/UTX.
Also, if you switch FTX Central back to default FSX, you do not need to reinstall the GEX textures.
There's some comparison shots between 1.096 and 1.099 in this thread:
http://www.simforums.com/forums/answered-gex-1099-upgrade-proof_topic45001.html
The colors in the new version look pretty nice. Less dull/more vibrant.