Migrate from .NET Framework 4.8 to .NET 8

[fasteddy516]

This will also include a move from VisualStudio Community 2022 development to Visual Studio Code.

[luvukr]

I wanted to raise a Pull request for this issue, but I am unable to. I am getting 403 error.

[markeby]

Are you making the pull request on a branch or in a clone?