I was able to restore normal function to the touchpad settings app and the touchpad on/off button by removing unity and its settings app - I am now set up with a plain GNOME system and the touchpad control works normally.
I was able to restore normal function to the touchpad settings app and the touchpad on/off button by removing unity and its settings app - I am now set up with a plain GNOME system and the touchpad control works normally.