Hi Mike,
I checked my library for file dates. The last successful upload of an Animated GIF to my library occurred on 10/4/2008. I uploaded the same GIF to a PowerSeller's library the next day for a new template.
I do believe I used the HTML uploader for both. I do like the new uploader, but old habits are hard to break.
I do recall having a problem with a transparent background GIF, and checked my local file date for the image. It was October 18th. I don't know for sure if that date is reliable for a broken upload or not, but it is one I recall having problems.
I have been doing some GIF tool evaluations over the past several weeks and noticed I was getting odd errors and incomplete images, but I thought it was my software as root cause. Well, now I'll have to go back over my tests and notes.
The GIFs use a color table that is limited to 256 colors, but they do have the transparency and animation (multiple time-spaced images) that make them helpful in template building. I haven't had problems with photobucket as a backup, so I hope you won't mind my making that recommenation while you folks continue to investigate the problem. If you can restore that capability to just the HTML uploader, that would be fine (to me). GIFs aren't the bulk, just those nifty functions for templates.
Dan