[Plugin: NextGEN Gallery] Carousel still not working with custom permalinks

I use the NextGen plugin a lot, and offer some template sites to artists which use the carousel template, so I have quite a few sites using this. Unfortunately I still have this plugin stuck on version 1.7.4, because every version I have tried since then breaks the carousel – clicking on the thumbnail does not change the large picture.

Yes, I have updated my permalinks, and it has not fixed the problem. I have updated the NextGen database when it asks me to, and clicked the button generaate URL friendly image slugs. Then updated permalinks again. Nothing, zippo, nada, it doesn’t work.

I have tried deactivating the permalinks in NextGen Gallery options, but then I get a Not Found when I click on a thumbnail. I turn NextGen permalinks back on and update my site permalinks again, and clicking on a thumbnail goes back to doing nothing, the large image doesn’t change.

My site uses the permalinks structure %postname%, and the only way I can get the carousel to work is changing it to the default permalink structure, which is a pretty useless solution, especially for sites that have already been online.

Alex did mention this as a bug sometime ago, but then put out an update which was meant to fix it, but it does not appear to be fixed.

I’ve seen others post this question in the past without getting an answer, and I have posted the question myself on the NextGen site, but don’t get an answer either. And Alex doesn’t seem to offer an option for paid premium support, which I would be willing to pay for if it would fix the problem.

Is there any way to get the carousel working with the %postname% structure, or do I need to start from scratch to find something else that will work for these sites?