So I am no longer seeing the messages I sendin the PM when I get a reply. For example I get only the person respondings message but not my original one. Did I change something? I also could not find a "sent message" on the left hand side where all the stuff is listed. Any help?
There is no requirement that the person replying include your sent message. It's just the default to include it, so many people use it.
You also won't see a sent message if you reply via the quick reply box. You need to use the "go advanced" button, then select the "save a copy in your sent items" check box at the bottom of the message window.