@Amasty I wasn't clear - I did some more testing - it's ANY extension I try to install that has the problem.
Magento Inc has been rather useless. Ok, I don't have a problem with them saying "We don't support Community Edition even if you're willing to pay us" - and I appreciate them saying "talk to one of our certified developers" - but they're flaming idiots. If you go to the directory, there is no contact information - and support was strangely silent after I pointed that out to them.
Want to make some money doing Magento consulting? I'm certainly willing to pay to get this resolved, as it affects paying clients. I just want the problem fixed.
Thanks for listening. steve@LobosStudios.com if you want to help me fix this problem - I've gotten no help from the community and have no reliable way of contacting developers (I Tweeted one who is somewhat local to me - no answer though).