random not working

the link is a single example, but it is the same throughout the site.
i have the shortcode being added manually to the custom template for most of the team pages. (do_action….).
We’re on WPEngine. I cleared that cache and my local cache and used incognito.
Still the same 3 reviews appear. every… single….time.
I just pulled new reviews and got one new one. (showing above “zach” in the reviews list). (name on that one is “suzan”), but still only showing zach.
I’ve tried using “newest” and “random”, but neither setting has any impact at all. it’s like they are hard-coded onto the site.
Checked the console and there are no errors. The only other plugin adding JS (showing in console) is the popup maker. Turned that off and got no difference.

Is the random not available on the free version? even though it shows in the admin area?

Any help would be great. At this point, the plugin is useless. We can type in 3 static reviews on our own. ??

The page I need help with: [log in to see the link]