Update: I sent a PM to ImaginaryIllusion describing my problem, at which point he reset my usergroup, and that cleared up the problem.
ImaginaryIllusion is a mod but also an admin, which is why I turned to him for help. At first I went to nycindie who is a mod but not an admin, and she directed me to go up a level so to speak. I don't know if newcomers would have to do the same process that I did, this could be an unusual situation caused by me changing my email addy.
I also noticed that while I was still being required to do Captcha challenges, I also couldn't open attachments in other people's posts. That problem, too, went away when ImaginaryIllusion reset my usergroup.