My version of LR-5.7 (OS X 10.8.5) apparently does not save the .NEF (Nikon RAW) edits done in the basic module.

Question

My version of LR-5.7 (OS X 10.8.5) apparently does not save the .NEF (Nikon RAW) edits done in the basic module. That means that I can correct exposure, highlights, shadows etc. but once I go to another picture and returned to the edited one the histogram (on the edited photo) and specifically the clipping triangles are white or some other color. This is normally suppose to indicate that some channel or all channels are clipped in the highlight/shadow areas. If I adjust any slider in the Basic panel even as little as one +/- value or press the J-key, the histogram will now show the original edit. Moving on to another photo and then returning to to previously edited one and again the edits are "not saved" and I have to hit the J-key or adjust a slider to see the previously edited information reflected in the histogram.
This is especially frustrating for fours reasons. If I have edited a shoot and return to it I cannot see from the clipping information whether the original edit was correct and of course I might re-edit it (to some now incorrect value). This brings up the second issue synchronization. I can't rely on it because if I go back to fine tune a specific image in the batch the triangles are white or some other color for that and every image. I have to hit the J-key to show/hide clipping or the back slash key to see before/after previews. This is the third issue which is very time consuming and inefficient regarding my workflow. The forth issue is that I have noticed that normally when an image is saved in PS, LR adds a copy of the saved version to its catalogue. I have noticed that the PS to LR saves are all wrong in terms of exposure (they are much lighter in tone) than the original LR edit and the PS edit on my screen. If I check the PS to LR photo in LR I notice that the Basic panel values have been changed and that I have to sync the image with the originally edited RAW/NEF LR file to get it to look the same.
Note 1). I am using an Apple cinema display and a calibrated Eizo ColorEdge monitor to view my NEF files. I have reverted back to using LR 4 however I am not sure if I should expect compatibility problems with Camera Raw 7.4 in LR 4 vs. Camera Raw 8.6 in LR 5.
Note 2.) I am going to do an import converting everything to .dng  to see if this is a work around.
Note 3). I would be interested in knowing if this issue is related to the PS RAW engine ver. 8.6, the Adobe created NEF calibrations or LR 5.
Note 4). I have duplicated this issue in OS X 10.8.5, OS X 9.xx and OS X 10.10.1
Hopefully someone else has noticed this problem. Any shared information would be valuable. Thanks for the reply.

Answer 1

Happy New Year!
The Develop panel Tone settings in your Dec 31 screenshot show both the Highlights and Shadows controls set to negative values (-48 and -19). For most images (such as this model shot) they should be set to opposite values (-Highlights and +Shadows). To try and duplicate your issue I used negative values for both of these controls with a similar high contrast image. I noticed that the Shadows control becomes non-linear when both the Highlights and Shadows controls are set to negative values. As I moved the Shadows control from a positive value the Shadows clipping indicator comes ON as expected. Moving the Shadows control to a value caused the clipping indicator to turn OFF and moving it further negative caused it to turn back ON again.
The following screenshots demonstrate the issue with only Highlights & Shadows controls applied as shown.
The Highlights & Shadows controls set just to the threshold of extinguishing the clipping indicators.
Moving the Shadows control toward negative causes the Shadow clipping indicator to come ON (as expected), but at-13 it goes OFF again!
Moving the Shadows control further negative causes the Shadows clipping indicator to come back ON at -33.
This is probably normal behavior for the PV2012 Image Adaptive Tone controls as they were not designed to be used way (- - or ++ Highlights & Shadows). The PV2012 Tone controls all interact with each other, which is why it is suggested to adjust them from the Top down starting with Exposure. For most images using -Highlights and +Shadows of near equal value produces good results.
I still can't duplicate the change in clipping indicators after selecting another image, so it may be unique to certain camera models and/or lighting conditions.
SUGGESTION
Try one of the image files that exhibits this issue using the following PV2102 Tone control adjustment procedure:
Start with all of the Tone controls at their default 0 settings and adjust them from the top-down in the order shown below.
Set Exposure to correct midtone brightness ignoring the highlight and shadow areas for now. Setting Exposure slightly higher (+.25 to +.50 EV) than what looks correct for the midtones seems to work best with most images.
Leave Contrast at 0 for now. It’s usually better to adjust this after the first pass.
Adjust Highlights so that blown out areas are recovered and “fine tonal detail” is revealed.
Adjust Shadows to reveal fine detail in dark areas. For most normal images simply setting +Shadows = -Highlights (Example +50 and -50) works very well.
The Whites control sets the white clipping point, which you can see by holding down the ALT key as you move the slider. Adjust it to the point where you see clipping appear with the ALT key.
The Blacks control sets the black clipping point, which you can see by holding down the ALT key as you move the slider. Adjust it to the point where you see clipping appear with the ALT key.
Now go back and adjust the Contrast control to establish the best midtone contrast
If necessary “touch-up” the controls using the same top-down workflow.
If the issue persists I suggest Exporting an image to DNG file format with the settings that exhibit the issue and post it to Dropbox or other file download site.