SOS on the URL template tags!

Re-wrote this to make it a little easier to decipher.

What I want: 96px thumbnails that link to original images.

How I tried to do it: I typed the following into Template Text Editor and saved, without visiting the "Design Editor":
<a href="[IMAGE1_URL]"><img src="[IMAGE1_URL96x96]"></a>
<a href="[IMAGE2_URL]"><img src="[IMAGE2_URL96x96]"></a>
<a href="[IMAGE3_URL]"><img src="[IMAGE3_URL96x96]"></a>
<a href="[IMAGE4_URL]"><img src="[IMAGE4_URL96x96]"></a>
<a href="[IMAGE5_URL]"><img src="[IMAGE5_URL96x96]"></a>
<a href="[IMAGE6_URL]"><img src="[IMAGE6_URL96x96]"></a>
What the text editor changed it to when I saved:
<a href="[IMAGE1_URL]"><img src="[IMAGE1_URL96x96]"></a>
<a href="[IMAGE3_URL]"><img src="[IMAGE2_URL96x96]"></a>
<a href="[IMAGE5_URL]"><img src="[IMAGE3_URL96x96]"></a>
<a href="[IMAGE7_URL]"><img src="[IMAGE4_URL96x96]"></a>
<a href="[IMAGE9_URL]"><img src="[IMAGE5_URL96x96]"></a>
<a href="[IMAGE11_URL]"><img src="[IMAGE6_URL96x96]"></a>

What I expect to hear from Auctiva Tommy:
http://www.theponyengine.com/rodentrescue.mp3

As you can see, all of the plain URL tags in the <a href> statements (not the 96x96 tags in the img src) are all odd numbers, 1...3...5...etc. Interesting concept. Am I going about this the right way?

I have replicated the problem every time for several times.

Desperately Sinking CB