metronome stopped working properly

Hi.
I was doing some searching on my issue and saw that there have been some issues in the past with the metronome but I really didn’t see anything matching my issue.

I have been using Cubase 7 Artist since Feb 2013 and have not had any issues with the metronome. Now, when I hit record, only the record button lights up - not play and record. Then nothing happens. It just sits there with the record light on. After about 15 seconds, it takes off and starts recording. I can hear the click once it starts but there is no pre-count (which I have set “on”).

The set-up window seems pretty straight forward and I have tried all combinations of settings to get it to work the way it used to without luck.

Anyone have a similar issue or know if this is a bug or something I screwed up?

Thanks, Mike