Hi meloquence, and all,

Some really good suggestions here.

I will chime in and say you should be playing in a straight-back chair, with no arms. Sitting on a bed is comfy but it completely changes the body's physical relationship to the instrument.

Try using a chair, maintaining good posture, and you should find that frees you up quite a bit to keep experimenting with those micro-adjustments need to get good postioning and good tone, with no muting of the strings. 

Hope this helps a little! - Lisa