Step and repeat won't unlock

I have used Indesign for years and came across a proble yesterday that never happened before. I think something may have changed with an update.

all I wanted to do was create a two page ad with headshots on it that have a text box below with the person's name and phone number.

when I did Step and Repeat to build the two pages, that worked just fine except I could NOT delete any of the images used in Step and Repeat to place new ones. Nor could I type over the name and phone number. It's like another layer was created every time I typed anything. 

it looked like anchor points were on every frame and text box, but nothing was showing as locked or grouped.

what caused this and how can I "unlock" or get rid of this locked type status so I can delete the images in the frames and place new ones and retype OVER the step and repeat text boxes? 

thank you!