My experience was very similar to yours, although my total grasp of theory was never that impressive. My ear was always very good, and once I knew enough theory and had enough time playing, the stuff I was listening to became "too easy"... i.e. all I had to do to play most of it was listen to it a couple of times (if even more than once) and I could play it (soloing was a different matter!)

I think this was primarily because almost all the stuff I was listening to was rock (at that time a lot of it metal).. which is by nature a pretty simple form of music. that may be why the emphasis got so heavy for a while on the soloing aspect of playing... it allowed a talented guitar player to showcase his ability within a framework that, by nature was somewhat limited.

Also, I have spoken with many musicians that eventually "graduated" to other styles of music/play (such as jazz) that allowed them to try different progressions, textures etc... that opened up new avenues of expression.

Try some jazz or country music, or if this is already your venue, try a little rock or even some "shredding"... sometimes it will inspire you to try something different.