RAX40s lose WAN internet when switched to AP mode

Up front, I can't see anything obvious wrong on the config based yon the description.

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pointsToNull wrote:

However, it seems I can only get one of them switched to AP mode and working.

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Only one RAX40 does work as an access point any all other RAX40 are not workable AP under the same conditions?

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pointsToNull wrote:

The rest work just fine when booted from a factory reset,

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Not really relevant for the AP mode - as the factory default is router mode, and all clients wil get IP addresses from the RAX40 router where they are connected to (LAN port) or associated to (wireless). 

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pointsToNull wrote:

however when they reboot from being switched to AP mode they either lose their WAN connection (LED goes amber),

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The Netgear consumer routers in AP do not maintain a WAN connection in the classic definition. In AP mode by definition it's just a L2 bridge between the port designated "Internet"/"WAN". This could have an impact on how the device does check the Internet connection - I suspect the amber LED is a false indication only as I've experienced this on some earlier tests and remember having read similar reports several times.

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pointsToNull wrote:

..."steal" the WAN connection from the other working RAX40.

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How does this appear to you resp. the systems you connect to that router supposedly in AP mode? What comes into my mind is that one RAX40 went to router mode, and started to issue local IP addresses on the LAN/WLAN (using a different subnet like 10.0.0.0/24 with the WAN on 192.168.1.0/24 (default on your R8000P).  

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pointsToNull wrote:

How come the RAX40s lose their WAN internet connection when switched to AP mode, but work just fine when creating their own network?

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Not convinced this observation is correct - see above. The IP stack on the RAX40 is active for local maintenance, and should have the IP address configured from the primary router DHCP with reservation or being manually configured accordingly (IP address according to a plan, correct mask, correct default gateway). This IP stack on these routers in AP mode does not make the wireless clients associated to the WiFi radios to reach the Internet, leaving alone Netgear does implement ugly things sometimes, like a L2 DNS capture "relay" which can lead to strange issues...

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pointsToNull wrote:

I have also had BestBuy Geek squad come check it out and they couldn't figure the issue out either. They just kept repeating how I should have bought a mesh system.

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Well, in my opinion consumer routers make awful bad or very limited feature wireless access points. When putting up money and time in such a set-up - long before looking into consumer Mesh systems - I tend to suggest looking into Netgear's Insight product offerings.