[SOLVED] Categories: Half my Categories Items are Missing from Menu on Page/Posts

Hello,

The other day I added a few new categories on the Categories page (WP2.9 and Atahualpa 3.5.1).

I have done this before with no problems. There were a total of about 30 categories showing in the Sidebar (upper left under the header photo bar). Those had been there and working OK for 9 months.

THE ACTION I TOOK:
Then I deleted about 2 or 3 OLD categories (I wanted a new name for them) that began with the letter "A" (as I recall..."Amateur" etc.).

THE RESULTING PROBLEM:
When I then looked at the page, the TOP 16 Category listings (terms) were MISSING. ???
The missing categories start with "A" and go to "L." What are still showing on a typical Page/Post are the categories beginning with "L" (Landscape) and going to "W" (Welcome). They are showing in the Sidebar (where they should). But, the other 16 category listings are NOT showing on those page/posts.

I went back to the Category Page (where you can add or edit categories) and verified that there are still those 16 categories with posts in them and they show on the Category Page (where you can add categories), but they do NOT show on the theme pages/posts. Only the LAST 14 items are now showing (beginning with "Landscape").

MY ATTEMPTS TO SOLVE:
I thought this might be a problem with the version of WP or Atahualpa. Or that I had done something to mess up my WP or Atahualpa (remote chance?). So, today I updated my Atahualpa by reinstalling the newest version (3.5.1) and also updated my WP to v3.0. Both seem to be functioning OK but the MISSING Categories (on the page or post) is STILL Missing.

I have looked at this many times, looking at the Category lists (on the category page) to make certain there are posts in those categories (some have 30+posts in a category on the Category page). I have cleared my cache, and done other things to try to find the problem.

I can't seem to get those first 16 categories to show on the pages or posts.

Any IDEAS?

Here is a link to my site: www.photomentors.com

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

I am a "beginner" with WP (this is my first site) and I built this myself, so I am to blame for the design mistakes. At this time I would prefer to keep the Category listing on the sidebar.

I am posting in THIS forum because the topic is about "Categories" and Atahualpa 3.0 is what I am using.