Thanks for the reply DragnMaw!
Since Kenshin and I were having similar problems... we put our heads together in discord and think we've gotten the gist of what's actually going on... it appears that the GUI just doesn't update the enhanced stat max and skill point maxi. We tried to use both...
So, I'm trying to set up a server for 3 of us total. None of us has the time to put into running multiple accounts/characters... so we wanted to try to offset the challenge by having more powerful characters with more skills... I've spent the better part of the last week reading posts...