Airport Extreme Ethernet Unreliable

I am using two different Airport Express "N" 2nd Generation running 7.6.3  to connect via WAN Port over my CAT6 to a 10/100/1000 Ethernet switch connected to my ISP Modem/Router from two different rooms in my house.
Both devices are set to Create a Wireless Network and have Guest Network Turned off.
Both devices are configured to Connect over Ethernet and are in Bridge Mode - to avoid any risk of double NAT.
Neither device is configured to Allow this Network to be extended.
All of the Airports are configured with the same SSID and WPA2 settings to assist in ease of roaming for portable/mobile devices
(There is an extreme in the basement with an AppleTV and Xbox direct connected to it and working just fine)
Here is the problem - when I connect my Mac Mini or my Mac Book Air to the Ethernet port on either Airport Express, I get very unreliable, even unpredictable results.  Very occasionally, the Macs will be able to recieve an IP from my ISP Router via DHCP and access the Internet, sometimes for an extended period of time and sometimes for just a minute or two.  Other times I am unable to get an IP from ISP Router DHCP - and I get an error in my network settings for the Ethernet adaptors, usually a yellow indicator and no IP address or a self assigned IP address (I can still see the local Airport Express when this happens).  The Link Integrity light is green and I have tested multiple cables.  In fact sometimes the Link Integrity stays lit even after I unplug the Ethernet cable (weird unless it wants me to know that wireless client's are connected).
What I want is that in each of the rooms where I have the Airport Express I will be able to connect one computer on 10/100 Ethernet and support various Wifi clients as best as possible in that part of the house (iPad, Xbox, AppleTV, KindleFire, iPhone, Android)
My question: is the LAN Ethernet port intended to provide reliable access for a locally connected device when the WAN Ethernet port is used to get back to the ISP Router / DHCP Server?  (It must be, this should be a legitmate use case... certainly works very well for the Airport Extreme!)
What am I doing wrong?

I have a similar problem --exact same setup as you (Motorola cable modem > airport extreme > via ethernet to desktop > via wifi to MacBook, three iPod Touch, Time Capsule, and two iPhones). This started about a year ago: everything is going fine, then stops. Everything shows normal, green light (on both the airport and time capsules), all bars on wifi symbols, activity lights on modem flashing or steady as per normal, but no traffic flow. It happens as often as twice daily, is usually at least once a day, and can go for up to two weeks without happening at all. Following tips and advice on apple.com, I had the ISP (Comcast) replace my modem, and I have also, several times, wiped the airport express and completely reinstalled it. All to no avail. What to do? To get going again, I power down the airport express and then power it up; I used to also power cycle the modem, but that makes no difference. When the airport powers up, I get the yellow light (expected), and the "traffic" light on the modem is off; in a few seconds the yellow light goes to flashing, then green, and the modem traffic light resumes flashing as normal, and I'm back on the air. Comments?

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