Since I hadn't heard anything back, I went in and figured out how to fix this on my own. I was right, the problem WAS with the already assigned ID numbers.
I created a page awhile back that was given the ID number 36. I later deleted that page. At another point, I came back and tried the page again. It was now assigned the ID number 37. Again I didn't like the page and deleted it. (It's interesting here that the database didn't recycle the number 36 from the already deleted page, but assigned the new page a whole new ID number.)
The problem started when my last post was assigned the ID number 36. It posted to the web okay, but any attempt to edit it took me back to the previously deleted page with the ID number of 36.
Questions here:
- Why can the database not distinguish between a post ID number and a page ID number?
- Since the database doesn't recycle deleted numbers, as previously shown, how did the post end up with a used number?
- And finally, does this mean that previously deleted posts and pages are actually recoverable from the database?
I fixed the problem by reposting my last post twice until I got an original ID number of 38. (Trying to edit post 36 or 37 under Manage Posts just took me back to my previously deleted pages that had the same ID numbers.) I can edit the post just fine now that it has an ID number of 38. After that I just deleted the other two copies of my posts.
Although this wasn't a major problem for me right now, it could be if my blog had a lot of subscribers (as many on WP do.) I also don't want to end up having to do that again if I should delete some other page from my blog. I think that this has the potential to be a pretty serious bug--though one with a somewhat easy fix.
Simple solution, set the database to never recycle ID numbers--even if a page or a post is deleted--and to never allow the same numbers to be assigned to a page and a post.
donncha