Can't sign into microsoft account

[Windows Central Question]

I have five windows phones. I recently went to install a new app and it asked for my password. I entered the password. It did not accept the password (or no change at any rate...screen went black and asked for my password again). Under accounts it says the MS account needs attention. When I hit it I'm asked for a password. When I enter the password the screen goes black and a second later it asks me for a password again.

I checked my other windows phones and they all have the same issue.

I went to log in online and it said it wasn't a valid account, and then let me make a new account under the same email address and password. My phones will still not sync to the account.

Now I'm told my only option is a hard reset, which will delete all my apps, settings, and messages on each phone. I tried backing up the apps and sms with the pre-installed utility but it seems to be linked to the MS account, which the phone cannot access.

The phone also does not seem to think I should be able to sign out of the MS account, delete it, or create a new one.

Is it possible that the phone is linked to a different MS account that could be using the same email address? Microsoft seems to have a dozen different log in sites.

What else can I do?