One more comment: the woman who lived here was 104 (!) and I know she hired landcapers to prune things, and I know they messed up a few plants. Could pruning too much or at the wrong time stunt the plant this much?

The large Fuchsias you have seen may be a different species or cultivar. Fuchsia magellanica and its cultivars can make impressive bushes, hedges and almost small trees. Many, although not all, of the 'hardy' Fuchsia hybrids do not get much above a couple of feet tall. If you live somewhere where 'hardy Fuchsias can overwinter they often get knocked back in a cold winter and take a while to recover the next year. Usual treatment for these is to cut them hard back in Spring to remove last year's twiggy growth and let them regrow from the base, similar to a herbaceous perennial rather than a shrub.

BTW yours looks thirsty and could do with some plants around it to make a moister environment. Fuchsias don't like sitting exposed in a parched desert.