I discovered that my "automatic updates" have not worked since September.
When I shut off automatic updates and tried to update manually, the page
hung and had to use task manager to end it. Now I can't turn automatic
updates back on again. I'm really stuck.

Hello John,
Have you run Services.msc and looked closely at the services?

Start button > select RUN> type in SERVICES.MSC

The following services are needed by the processes at Windows Update. In services management console ( services.msc) they must NOT be *Disabled* in the Startup type.
They need to show a startup type of Manual or Automatic.
Here are the services & their Startup types:

Background Intelligent Transfer Service(BITS) Manual
Cryptographic Services Automatic
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Automatic
System Restore Service Automatic

Now then, John, look at the entry for Automatic Updates. Does it shows Started in the Status column? If not, click on "Start" the service link.

If you continue to have issues with Windows Updates, the best place is to see the group at
microsoft.public.windowsupdate

HTH
--
Maurice N
MVP Windows - Shell / User
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John B wrote:
> I discovered that my "automatic updates" have not worked since
> September. When I shut off automatic updates and tried to update
> manually, the page hung and had to use task manager to end it. Now I
> can't turn automatic updates back on again. I'm really stuck.