Single Click Taskbar Icon To Restore/lose App Focus?

if i had 2 apps open, i could single click app 1's respective Taskbar icon to restore (minimize)/lose (set) focus. the aforementioned method would also minimize or maximize the app 1's window as the focus changed. further, if i launched app 2, app 2 would load in the foreground, immediately receive focus and i could use it right away. seems after a recent Windows Update, i lost the ability to use all the above methods. My current Taskbar properties are: Taskbar Tab - Lock the Taskbar, Use Small Icons and Autopeek all enabled Start Menu Tab - both Privacy settings enabled the steps below describes the current behavior starting with no apps open: i open app 1 (e.g., Firefox) and perform an app 1 activity next I open app 2 (e.g., Word) and app 2 loads in the background (as opposed to opening in the foreground and receiving the focus) i click on app 2's taskbar icon to gain access (transfer focus) and perform an app 2 activity, however, app 2's taskbar icon starts flashing but app 2 doesn't receive the focus.to access app 2 i have to minimize app 1 using app 1's minimize button if i want to go back to app 1 i click on app 1's taskbar icon to gain access (transfer focus) and perform an app 1 activity, however, app 1's taskbar icon starts flashing but app 1 doesn't receive the focus. to access app 1 i have to minimize app 2 using app 2's minimize button now clicking an app 1 or app 2 taskbar icons cause them to start flashing if app 2 has the focus, and i mouse over app 1 (when it doesn't have the focus) and click the preview of app 1, app 1's taskbar icon flashes, but the focus does not shift to app 1 - it remains with app 2. with 5 apps open, if i want access to app 2, i have to minimize app 1, 3, 4 and 5 using their respective minimize buttons to see/gain access app 2. as i mentioned, in the past, i only needed to single click any app's Taskbar icon once to lose focus (and minimize window) and transfer focus (and restore window) to another app or vice versa. call me weird, etc, but this greatly enhances my work productivity because i'm navigating to windows with virtual machines, remote desktop connections, etc. i even created a restore point where this behavior is working as i want it. if i restore and update, the behavior changes.