As for Naruto still being the hero we know? It's a tough question, and given the ending of the manga, an even tougher answer. The fact that there is any question or doubt in whether or not he is/was is troubling to me, and therefore I'd have to go with no, he wasn't. He accomplished what he stated were his goals but he didn't surpass his predecessors in any respect, in my opinion. The hero never got THE girl, and to me that's a big deal. Especially when it was emphasized with his teacher's last words (it is implied that Naruto was/is supposed to surpass Jiraiya) about not getting the love of his life.
I don't know if the Tale of the Gutsy Ninja is the same as it was in the manga but if it is, Naruto's actions goes directly against what he said to Nagato when he said "That's who Naruto is." Which is disheartening.
Yeah I agree. To question whether the character is the hero of whom the series is named after is truly saddening. And to quote the same dialogue "If you change the hero, the story becomes something else entirely" (I don't remember the exact line but you get the idea). To me, this line echoes the truth of 699+700+Movie because our "supposed hero" has indicatively changed for the worse and the story ought to follow.