Permalinks, comments, all not working

Hi all,
Problem: permalinks link to invalid page resulting in 404 error
Comments same problem/error

This is a new install, all automated, no manual meddling.
Host: Bluehost
url: https://www.wrightwing.net

Yes, Bluehost supports and enables mod_rewrite by default
I am waiting on my question about AllowOverride in the Apache httpd.conf file.

Install was done to https://www.wrightwing.net/htmdir/WP

.htaccess is in https://www.wrightwing.net/htmdir, this is where WP is creating it.

index.html contains:
Redirect permanent /index.html https://www.wrightwing.net/WP/index.php
(note, the htmdir is invisible, and causes error if included in the redirect statement)

My .htaccess file has been delted and recreated numerous time. Currently it contains:
start .htaccess excerpt

Redirect permanent /index.html https://www.wrightwing.net/WP/index.php
RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^https://wrightwing.net/.*$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^https://wrightwing.net$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^https://www.wrightwing.net/.*$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^https://www.wrightwing.net$ [NC]
RewriteRule .*\.(jpg|jpeg|gif|png|bmp)$ – [F,NC]
# BEGIN WordPress
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
.
.bunch of stuff generated by WP
.
.
.RewriteRule ^archives/([0-9]{4})/?$ /index.php?year=$1 [QSA,L]
</IfModule>

# END WordPress

end .htaccess excerpt

I have tried the following permalink structures:
/%year%/%monthnum%/%day%/%hour%/%minute%/%second%/%post_id%/
/archives/%year%/%monthnum%/%day%/%hour%/%minute%/%second%/%post_id%/

They generate urls such as https://www.wrightwing.net/archives/2005/09/17/08/51/11/6/

Which get a 404

When selecting coments, a 404 is also generated by a URL such as:
https://www.wrightwing.net/archives/2005/09/17/08/46/21/5/#comments

At this point I am at a complete loss. I have been through this support forum for days. I have tried many of the suggestions, none work.

At this point, I am considering a complete reinstall, not using a separate directory fot WP, incase that is part of the problem.

Oh, but press-it and post by email work, I tested but deleted the posts via the manage/posts page in the WP dashboard.

Any clues?

Thanks, Tom