SOLVED !!!
after i signed up here, i decided i should check the wider community to see if this problem existed. as i am not a tech, i generally believe that the company support is where you turn. i was, however, schooled by a brilliant technical person and therefore remembered that there may be others better adept at solving a problem.
this being the case in point here. wound up on a wiki site for buffalo storage. apparently, the firmware that is on the buffalo site that the buffalo support put me on is older than the firmware on my nas. downloaded a v2.11 through the wiki site and presto, back in business. not a good showing for buffalo tech support, though they have helped in the past (and all reps were courteous, just obviously not skilled enough).