Also copying this whole thread to my files to archive - lots of very helpful hints in here. Thank you to everyone who gave me all the hints I needed to get this back to normal.
P.S. The mod that I changed the BSA settings for in OBMM was "Beaming Sunglare" which I love. The instructions say " set bsa redirect to BSA Alt, and also check Normal Maps (from Unchecked). <====== this is what I changed back to normal in OBMM to fix my face+skin textures problem. I'm hoping ArchiveInvalidation Invalidated will help me be able to keep Beaming Sunglare because I love that effect.