[powinmo]

Folks with this problem should probably start tracking what apps they run on a regular basis that have the potential to mess around with backlighting settings.

I've had this exact problem, and I found a few scenarios that would mess up the locklevel and/or backlight registry settings...

1. apps like IGO 8 (GPS apps are notorious if you ask me) with power management/backlighting override setting ENABLED. If IGO terminates prematurely it can foobar the locklevel settings and the backlight auto setting (if enabled, may become disabled and remain so until you manually re-enable it). The GPS apps will try to prevent lock screens and back-lighting options from taking effect.

2. some 3rd games I've installed in the past will also try to override the power management/backlight settings in an attempt to make the gaming experience "better"... again if that app does not terminate correctly could leave things in a wacky state.

3. user installed some kind of 3rd party lock screen, and the uninstall was not clean/complete. I've had this happen with s2u2 long ago.

The problem is rarely the ROM as I've seen this stuff on stock, Energy, and even Might I've tried before. It will almost always be some kind of 3rd party installed app and some odd circumstance - but that's just based on my experience... so who knows.