One of the kind members of the board contacted me with a wikihow article on how to disable this feature on your GV:
http://m.wikihow.com/Record-a-Call-on-Google-Voice
In step 1 you just disable it rather than enable it. Not sure if that function is a default setting but I would suggest making sure the feature is disabled.
Glad I'm not the only one this has happened to. Thanks to the person who shared that link with me as well! Very helpful!!
Also, thank you to Luke. I will definitely check into talkatone as an alternative. Google really does know way too much about its users. Its unsettling at best.
