Re: Mono Black "Survival"
Survival's greatest strength was "G, discard: Demonic Tutor. Repeat this ability as often as you want." The graveyard recursion loops were secondary, a way the deck could have lategame inevitability with few deck slots (because Survival can tutor for the tools). I wouldn't compare this to Survival.
I love Phyrexian Reclamation, but I think the reason it doesn't see Legacy play is the 2-mana activation. Mana is precious in this format.
You invest 3 mana and 2 life before you get a Raise Dead. At that point you still haven't impacted the board, just gone down a card (casting Reclamation) and then back up a card. You still have to cast the creature again before any of this has an impact on the game state. That could be a few turns and 5+ mana to get a body on the board, when Reclamation could have just been another creature instead. If you only get to activate it once, you're better off with Kolaghan's Command, Liliana, the Last Hope or another creature.
To actually pull ahead in cards, you need at least 2 activations: an investment of 5 mana and 4 life, plus recasting 2 creatures. In other words, it's great lategame card advantage but bad tempo and bad short-term value.
Tortured Existence seems more viable because of the cheaper activation. Not paying the extra mana and 2 life is a significant gain in tempo. Cards like Krovikan Horror and Squee, Goblin Nabob should fuel it.
Otherwise, there are other recursion options: Recurring Nightmare in NicFit, Liliana, the Last Hope, Unearth, Volrath's Stronghold, Oath of Ghouls.