Can you please post screenshots to better describe your issues? (otherwise there is too much guessing involved)

Let's take them one at a time - attached is a screen shot of trying to invoke spellcheck only to get the "Server response wasn't proper JSON". Not sure how better to describe that.

This is an example of trying to add a link to a highlighted image. This used to work - now it just hangs.

Ok, we'll check these.
Please make a separate topic for any new problem.

Hi @jjenal,

Images: The old insert image allowed for orientation and borders - neither feature appears now. Why?

I think the upstream TinyMCE library that b2evolution uses remove some of the advanced features. You can enable the advance image options by adding , image_advtab: true to the custom TinyMCE init in the TinyMCE plugin's settings.

Adding links to images: I used to be able to click on an image, and then insert a link (such as a link to a larger image) - that no longer works. Dragging through the image selects it, but then the add link box does not work.

The TinyMCE library version that comes with b2evolution 6.9.7 has an image selection issue. Upgrading the TinyMCE library should fix the issue.

Spellcheck fails - I just get an error saying "Server response wasn't proper JSON" - with no hint as to how to fix it.

I have tested the spellchecker using b2evolution 6.10.1 and the TinyMCE spellchecker enchant engine which works on my end. What spellchecker engine are you currently using?

Also, when I login from the blog page, it logs me in, but does not give me any access to back office links, like write!

If you login with the proper credentials you should be able to access the back-office in the navigation bar. Could you provide a screenshot after you login?