First, i'm having trouble locating any of those things withing my server (trying to do so through GoDaddy - yes? or should i do this in Fetch? not my area of expertise for sure.)
You could check your PHP settings by creating a PHP file (basically just a plain text file with a .php file extension) containing the code <?php phpinfo(); ?>
You would then upload the file to your web server (with your regular FTP program) and open the file (from your web server) in your browser.
Then, the new version of showkase was working fine, then it stopped... so would that still mean there are suddenly corrupted or missing files?
If it was working fine but now does not, then this certainly suggests that something has changed for this to happen.
Whether it is a corrupt file or a setting on your web server which has changed, I do not know at the moment.
Also, I really don't want to upload any of the old pages, because i completely redesigned the site from what it was before so the pages would have to be redone and published anyway, and it's not publishing any of the changes, although a new page i created yesterday is showing up. so I'm generally confused/frustrated.
I was suggesting importing older pages (from your original Showkase installation) into a new Showkase installation only if the new Showkase installation was working and publishing pages OK (which would suggest that there was a problem with your original Showkase installation).
I would be happy to investigate further but I would need access to your web server and Showkase site.
If you are agreeable to this, then please let me know and I will send you a message with an email address where you can forward your FTP and Showkase login details to me. Thank you.