MC said:

Here's what I'm wondering - I would like the tree to grow tall. Would it be
best to prune back all but one or two of these vertical growing branches to
encourage upward growth? I'm worried that if I let thing go without
pruning, the tree will just bush out at break and never really get back into
the upward growth pattern.

When we moved in here 12 years ago, we had a sugar maple which had somehow
lost its leader. We thinned out a most of the new, competing leaders and now
it is a normal looking tree with a bit of a jog in the trunk. If you aren't comfortable
going up the tree, and have some money available to spend on it, call in a
certified arborist to look at salvaging it. (These days, I think we were absolutely
nuts to go up the tree like that!)

--
Pat in Plymouth MI

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)