Problem: when I add data with fields for the title or category, the data is stored in the #__cck_store_item_content table in a new column, not in the #__content table (title or catid). 

How do I connect a content object's field to the content table title column and another field to the content table catid column? It used to work with the Article Title (art_title) and Article Category (art_catid) fields but not anymore.  I must of changed things. In the storage section, format/object which is standard article, I click on the up/down arrows, and select "title" for article title field and "catid" for article category id field but it does not seem to stick. Now the field names are going in the #__cck_store_item_content table therefore, in the backend content->articles list, the title is today's date and the category is blank.

Maybe I need to reset the title and category id fields -- reinstall a plugin?