OK. Stopped into an Advance Auto on the way home to pick up some parts for tomorrow when I tackle this thing. I decided to drop back to my OEM halogen bulbs (been using aftermarket Halogen while fixing HID). Lo and behold, they BOTH work properly. I should also add to SSMickey's comment above about "poorly engineered" aftermarket parts. While removing these AM bulbs, they FELL APART. There is the plastic housing, then there are the 3 prongs on the bottom. The entire 3 pronged piece just... fell out. The wiring harness that came with these bulbs turned out to also be loose. Anyways, until tomorrow when I can replace my burned plugs, I'll stick with the stock halogens.
I'm about to make some powerful enemies right now, but I want to warn others of what I bought so this doesn't happen to them. These are the aftermarket bulbs I bought:
http://www.automotivelightstore.com/H13HOD.aspx
Yes, these are the bulbs that burned my plugs and literally fall apart. As you can see, I bought them from AAC, but I understand they do not manufacture these bulbs. Perhaps this is a fluke, but after I purchased them, they arrived in packaging NOTHING like shown in the picture. In fact, they looked reused. There were no paper inserts or such, simply a square, acrylic case. I mentioned this to them before, but was told that "our products do not cause plugs to burn". I've bought twice from AAC because of the reputation they have here on Camaro 5, but I struggled with them before as well. Currently they are troubleshooting my HID kit and bulbs and have told me that the burned plugs should not be effecting the HID operation. I'm skeptical.
I don't mean to slander, I'm simply stating the facts. After I installed those aftermarket bulbs, my plugs were burned and things haven't always worked right since. I've still yet to check fuses, replace plugs, and do more troubleshooting, so let's hope for the best.