Now I know how important "Good Morning" can be!

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Another gov. job might interview me, but I note that the correspondence I had with that lady started out with her being formal and me going informal and the lady just followed me and went informal too. I only made it to the second hiring phase because I applied as a disabled applicant.

Formality in correspondence is very important. I’ve been accused of being angry or rude in emails I wrote for the sole purpose of transmitting information. Using formality takes a bit longer to write but I find it stops people from trying to incorrectly guess at your emotional state when you were writing.
I personally love email because I can compensate for my failed social skills with excessive formality and professionalism. Every email I write is in the form of:

Hello Your_Name

Blah, blah, blah.

Sincerely,

This_Space_Intentionally_Left_Blank

If it’s for a perspective employer I do not use “Hello” I use “Dear”. If I’m sending an email to a general inbox and don’t know who the recipient will be I use “Dear Sir or Madam”.

If you're applying for a job, it's good practice to be more formal than typical. My wife is a teacher and even though the schools she works dress so that the children will feel comfortable, it's still well known that when applying for teaching jobs you wear a suit. (Although, one time her jacket was lost and she still got the job, but any online guide will tell you this is the exception.)

The same goes for correspondence, don't become less formal until the other person does. Even then, it's best not to become quite as informal as them.

I doubt anyone has lost a job due to writing 'kind regards' or 'thank you for your consideration'.

I think this sounds like an incredibly petty (and possibly totally made up) reason for them not to hire you.

In my job most of the email communication that goes around is really informal. Actually in my company we've had training on cultural diversity where they said you cannot expect other people to follow the same norms of etiquette that you are familiar with. And they used "good morning" as a specific example and said that we have to understand some people come from cultures where they don't say things like that and so you shouldn't be offended if they don't respond. If someone got bent out of shape over not being told good morning it might even be considered harassment. But then I work for a global corporation, if you are applying for a job with a local company it's a whole other story, they will probably have stronger expectations about following cultural norms.

I had a similar problem when I was younger and looking for work. My Father called it "The big lie" because we all know I don't wear a suit or speak as proper as I can all the time, but the fact that I am making the effort is what they like to see.

I learned how to compose a proper letter in school. In any job situation where there is money involved, you should try to be proper. I don't know if this kind of thing is still taught in school anymore with this texting generation.

Having good manners is always helpful. My Mother taught me so I don't know where someone can learn those.

"Please" and "Thank you" will also open lots of invisible doors of opportunity. I'll throw those around no matter what I'm doing, without even thinking about it.

I thoroughly despise the "good morning" ritual. It's like a sacred religious thing with most everybody. I absolutely do not get it at all. Being compelled to trade "good morning" salutations with a bunch of the same people every single day. If you don't, it's like you are spitting in their face.

"Good morning" means "I hope your day goes smoothly."

It's also a wish that the other person is feeling good at the moment. Sometimes, people don't feel good after waking up.