I found many people say 好きでした when they actually mean 好きです. I think it is
short for ずっと好きでした. I know ずっと～していた and ずっと～している can well mean the same, but I
still do not know the nuance between 好きでした and 好きです.

* * *

The question is about the difference between 好きでした and 好きです. The following do
not have to be relevant, but I hope it can inspire discussions and answers.

My first thought is that ずっと may be the culprit. It is often used with た even
when る is possible and more logically correct. ずっと is often used with していた and
している. The two expressions often happen to be interchangeable. And I think
compared with している, していた often implies the process/action/state is
_interrupted_ or _something else_ happens in the meanwhile, like in

> 彼女に電話をかけようと考えていたところ、彼女の方から、電話をかけて来た

My another observation is that た is often used to in _experience-based_
expressions. It seems that た (as well as the particle だ, adjective ending い)
is especially common in expressions involving expressing emotions, and る is
rare in this usage. All following sentences are _stative_ , very different
from verbs. I assume 好きでした has something to do with it.

  1. Impressions, reports

> (After watching) いい最終回だった
>
> (Looking out the window, then coming back and saying) 誰もいなかった

  2. Feelings

> (Hearing good news) よかった
>
> (After the issue is solved) ありがとうございました

  3. Something between 1 and 2

> (When you finally got to see someone) 会いたかった
>
> (Same as above) 待っていました

There are many other usages of た, but I do not think they are particularly
relevant.

I feel that 好きでした is more or less the same as 会いたかった and 待っていました. Unlike case
1 and 2, both sentences can be used with ずっと, which is similar to 好きでした. But
it can be argued that the uses of た in both sentences are logical, because
both imply 会えた so the speaker is no longer 会いたい or 待っている. Nevertheless, I
think 好きでした conveys the same level of emotional intensity as 会いたかった and
待っていました, if you compare them with 待たせたな, 遅い、すごく待った. I think people say 愛してる
rather than 愛してた probably because 片思いのほうが辛い.

_To emphasize the feeling over a long past period of time_ , is this the
reason that makes た often fit better with ずっと?
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usage tense
好き【すき】でした。付き【つき】合って【あって】ください。
The difference between 好きでした and 好きです is somewhat subtle. It depends on
whether or not the action/event/whatever being described is a one time event
or an ongoing action. For example, If you liked a concert you would probably
say 好きでした (or, if you wanted to sound even more natural, 面白｛おもしろ｝かった -- It was
interesting). If you like studying Japanese, you would say
日本語を勉強｛べんきょう｝するのが好きです. It's similar to the English, "I _liked_ that movie." as
opposed to "I _like_ that movie." Both are correct, but in Japanese you would
slightly prefer the past tense if you're talking about a single event.

* * *

For 「よかった, いい最終回だった」, this is actually two independent clauses so the adverb
ずっと wouldn't work. The 良{よ}かった is saying, "That was great." If you wanted to
use ずっと, you would put if before the verb and make the verb past tense. For
example, この道{みち}をずっと行った (I went all the way down this road).
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Just an addition to current answers/comments. It could also be a Hokkaido
thing. When I lived and worked in Sapporo, some people (mostly 50 and older)
would use a similar past tense. For e.g., I might get a phone call where the
other person might say "もしもし、佐藤でした" instead of "もしもし、佐藤です"

you might find more details by googling "北海道弁 過去形"
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