After trying everything that was recommended on the other posts and having no success, i finally found the problem i think, but i don't know how to fix it
It is actually a USPS problem i believe, but i think i may have a work around, i just don't have the knowledge to know how to do it.
The problem is in the API request, and the USPS response to it. Even though i only have one service selected in the USPS extension settings, the API request is requesting "ALL" services. I don't know if this is a bug with the extension or some other problem. The response from the USPS is varied depending on the USPS postal zone. If the destination zone is different than the origin zone, then the post office returns the resulting quote for all services including the ONE service that i want, and everything works fine from there.
The problem is when the origin and destination zones are the same,  the API response does not include the quote for the ONE service i want, and so the error message "No shipping options available" error is displayed.
So instead of the API request using "ALL", can this be manually set to just the one service i need, by changing a file, or is there something else wrong that needs to be changed. The auto select option doesn't seem to make a difference whether it is on or off.