I would absolutely listen to EyeDentist in regards to nutritional advice. He very much knows his stuff and walks the walk.
I just wanted to contribute that I had the same experience you did, where I ate myself to a higher total and then had some anxiety about losing the fat and keeping the strength. It will be a rough transition when you switch from such a massive caloric surplus to something a little more milder, and you may notice a slight drop in performance initially as you adjust, but after that you can very much continue to build strength while losing fat. The hightest total I ever set in powerlifting (before switching to strongman) was also at my leanest.
In this photo, I was 5’9, 217lbs and had a 425 squat, 365 touch and go bench, and 540 deadlift
And in my “rate my physique” thread, I was sitting at 190lbs and ended that meet with a 502lb squat, 335 competition bench, and 601lb deadlift