It seems that the settings that enabled the Quick Links and the Search drop down boxes got out of sync. I checked the settings for those features, and it was set correctly. I hit 'Save' even though nothing was changed and when I did that, they were back.
Regarding the New Posts feature change: I realize it may take some time to get used to. The easiest thing to do is when you are finished reading the threads you are interested in for that session, click 'Quick Links' at the top, and then click 'Mark Forums Read'. If you do this, then the New Posts feature will work in about the same fashion it did before. A few extra steps, but the same result.
I hope this doesn't cause too much of an inconvenience.
LK