UPDATE…
Nord sent me a link to downgrade my Nord from 7.35.1.0 to 7.34.4.0 and I reset Avast to scan incoming and outgoing emails and all is right with the world again.
They pointed the finger at MS this time. I pointed it right back at them noting that no updates were done on my machine for a week prior to their update to 7.35.1.0 when things stopped working.