Replace choffmeister/git-describe-semver GH action

Replace the (currently) problematic GitHub Action with a
custom job (`git_describe_semver`) that explicitly uses the
v0.3.11 version of the Docker container to generate the release
asset release version.

That version is captured as the job's `version` output which
is referenced by other jobs in the build-images and
release-build workflows. Those jobs are set as dependent on
the `git_describe_semver` job so that they only run after
the asset release version is computed.

Since the value is computed once at the start of the workflow,
I've updated the `actions/checkout` step for each job to use
the default checkout option(s) instead of pulling the full
repo history each time. This should (somewhat) optimize that
step in the build process.

NOTE: Earlier prototype or "scratch" / "testing" jobs and steps
are retained in commented out form for future reference.

refs GH-1276