>>2839949regarding #4, i have LAV filters, which im pretty sure was recommended to me a few years ago on this board (there is no reason why i would have that, other than for mmd). im not rejecting your advice, only saying that is what i use and has worked up till now.
i will look into these other troubleshooting steps but i have one more detail i should probably share. i deleted mmd a while back and redownloaded it a few months ago. i cant help but think there is some kind of modification i had in my original mmd folder that was lost when i deleted it. i couldnt tell you exactly what it might have been but for some reason im really thinking this is the case. currently using a completely fresh copy of mmd with no modifications in my mmd folder at all. any idea what this might have been? am i remembering incorrectly?