[Diane Borgard]

Update: I believe I have discovered the problem! It was a bad RAM stick. Windows Memory Diagnostic tool found nothing wrong, and nothing in my system seemed to be effected other than the ability to render complex AE projects with 3D layers. After a complete system restore to a known working point failed to help, I opened up the machine. Finding nothing loose, I methodically tested all the memory sticks to find the culprit. Everything is running smoothly now, albeit on less RAM.