iMessage group turned into a Group MMS after installing iOS 8

I've tried all the remedies suggested in this thread up to but not including deleting the thread. I've tried deselecting email addresses for iMessage, reseting all settings, disabling and re-enabling iMessage, even backing up and restoring the phone, the 'message the group + yourself but then remove yourself' trick didn't work at all (I never received an additional text after sending the initial message). None of these fixed the problem.

I can start a new thread with the same two other people and myself, and iOS knows it should be an iMessage thread, but if I delete myself from the To: field it loads up the existing conversation and thinks it's a Group MMS thread. I really don't want to have to delete this thread as it has a lot of important history in it. Has anyone come up with any thing not listed here that worked for them? Any official word from Apple, should I hold out until 8.1 for a fix?

I've seen the replies also come back as individual responses.

Still having issues with this, and I don't want to delete the thread. My friend just got his iPhone 6 and sees same thing with this Group MMS on one thread only. Hoping Apple will fix in next release. Can't figure out any other way to remedy.

I had this problem yesterday, at 2:30 it went to the group in iMessag, when I sent another message at 5:00 it became text. i tried all of the above mentioned suggestions, nothing worked. Then i noticed that the same string of message also appeared on my ipad, except those turned text message. I was able to keep most of the contents in ipad. So, I deleted the entire text message from iPhone, and retarted the group. It finally went back to iMessage. It definitely is a bug, when all fail, delete the message and retart the group.

I'm not sure if my problems have been addressed:

1. Wondering if a "Group MMS" with over 15 people in the group can be named? For example: "Golf Group" or "Family Group" etc. How?

2. I have been told that one of my people listed in the group doesn't have a "plan" that includes texting and she has to pay extra when I text her. May I change her to an e-mail address instead of a cell phone? How?

Thank you, Mari