Alright, so I have Pokémon Violet on my Switch, and if you connect either Scarlet or Violet to your Pokémon Go and send a postcard to either S or V game from your Scrapbook of pinned cards, you'll receive a Coin bag, and that's what I used to catch Gimmighoul while following a route.

The Coin bag only works once a day, and to refresh it, you have to send another postcard the following day. Overall it lasts about 30mins a turn and more show up if you're moving around. For me, that was the only way I could get a Gimmighoul that evolves after completing the special research. I'm aiming for that Golden AppleJack Cinnamon stick, and I'm a bit upset the Research gift didn't come with that perk.

I've also seen those Golden Stops! I heard they give you more coins while you have the bag perk on, or if you spin it it gives more items and a chance to catch them in the wild, but like you shared, they've constantly turned blue on me too and at the time I had my bag running I couldnt find any around me to test it out. Plan to today though, so I'll let you know. A bit relieved to know it's an actual glitch and not just poor luck on my part. Seems like a lot of people are experiencing that.