Mute VST mutes the instrument (in addition to events)

Sorry if this has already been answered before, but I notice that with 7.5, when I mute a VST instrument track that is playing the MIDI notes, the notes stop playing (as they should) but now I can’t hear myself as I play along using my MIDI keyboard. It’s as if the keyboard is no longer triggering or something, but I see that MIDI data is being sent to Cubase and the VST shows data incoming (the blinking red light).

In the past, clicking mute would mute the recorded MIDI data, but you could “play along” on the same track and hear what your playing. Now, it seems that mute will mute the recorded MIDI data and mute the instrument entirely, too. Is this how it’s supposed to work now? Can I change it back such that I can hear what I’m playing on a muted track?

bump…any suggestions?