Thanks for the reply, but that is not the problem I am experiencing. You are referencing the situation where I am replying to a comment that has been posted. The problem I am experiencing is when my FOLLOWERS re ceive and email with an update I have posted. They REPLY to that email and it is supposed to post a commet to my blog (after which your suggestion above kicks in). It is the FOLLOWERS reply which is not getting properly posted. My discussion settings are correct and it all worked fine for the past 4 posts I made, then just quit working (with just a couple exceptions) for my post made on November 12th.
It's especially frustrating because now my FOLLOWERS are getting the message, inserted by WordPress, that they can REPLY to the email (in the past it used to be a NOREPLY email they got).