It's not dead! [1] I use it daily, and it's working just fine. For example, check out the (centralized) list [2] of Ports files that define the packages. You can see it's pretty lively

But your perception that it's dead is certainly symptomatic of an issue for the project.

[1] yes yes Monty Python

[2] https://github.com/macports/macports-ports

It’s not dead. I too have used it nearly daily for over 15 years.

Nope. MacPorts not dead. Use it everyday.