seems like you have the Google Play app oddness that is actually not unusual. Some solutions are:
1. uninstal updates (you did that);
2. clear the app's cache and data;
3. factory reset of the N8
My Moto X 2014 had this issue a week or so ago after the recent Google Play services update. I found clearing the cache fixed my issue. Maybe that's ll you need.
If you search for battery drain "Googly Play services" you'll see it happens.
https://www.google.com/search?q=goog...m=122&ie=UTF-8
good luck!