OH MY GOD...excuse me while I smash my head against my desk a few thousand times & beg your forgiveness...
It works...I had "lock category from uploads" which apparently kills any sub-categories from being able to upload
While I cannot be mad at anyone other than myself, I'd love to ask for this feature to change where it locks just that main catecgory itself and doesn't effect any sub-categories there are under it.
Sorry about the hassle