Are there more recent versions of GemRB for Windows? I downloaded it from here, where it is listed as the most recent build:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/gemrb/files/Buildbot%20Binaries/Windows/AppVeyor/
*EDIT*(Actually, I just looked through the directory, and I see that you are correct. Why does it say "Looking for the latest version? Download gemrb-win32-ee12dd9.zip (5.2 MB)" above the directory listing?)
I found the link to the Sourceforge site on this page: http://www.gemrb.org/wiki/doku.php?id=install:windows
I copied all the files into a folder in the root directory of c: so I don't think there are any of the weird protection issues that would exist in the programs folder. I have changed the config file to point to my save directory, and it is successfully saving the files there. It just can't read them once I restart the game.
As well, I'm not using any antivirus except for Windows Defender which essentially comes with the OS.
Okay, I'll try the build at the top of the directory, but do you think it could also be that I'm using GemRB with the original version of BG1? I get the feeling that GemRB is more commonly used with BG2.
Thanks for your help!