You Tube App no longer working iPad1 Workaround loses all my saved favorites Why?

Hi everyone!

The default youtube app on my iPad1, IOS 5.1.1 stopped working about a week ago, presenting "cannot connect to You Tube " as the only Error message. No Explanation.. no choices... . It shows a sign in screen, no data can be accepted as it says it "cannot connect to You Tube".

I tried contacting You Tube by various means. Almost impossible to get through. I got a phone number. But they had overload for a week or two now, so saying call back at another time for the "You Tube" choice 3. Now it says Choice 5 for You Tube questions and a recorded message (no possibility to speak to a human) directs us to go to "You Tube" .com / support. No help there... old old connection problems solved back in 2009 and iPods, iPhones NO iPads at all... Frustrated...I left that avenue.

I went to this Help Forum called reddit (before I realized they stole your apple logo) but their answers said to try using the Internet version of You Tube to get around this problem. So I managed to get the You Tube "mobile" connection on the web to work instead.

BUT! All my saved/favorites from the iPad 1 are missing!

Instead there is a hodgepodge of various You Tubes I've views on other computer devices I've used to access the web from the same ISP, but NOT the sign in /log in for the iPad1!

How to get my old iPad login working again for all of my favorite You Tube (mostly valuable computer tutorials? Mostly they are on how to use various apps on the iPad that would take long time or "forever" to search again to get back.

How to get all my years (five!!) of saved favorite You Tubes I carry with me on the iPad back again? (I can't carry a desktop computer around, right?).

What is going on here??

Does anyone else experience this problem?

The initial question here came up empty as no one on Apple Community has asked this question before! Does that mean I'm the only one here asking about the You Tube App on the Apple Community?

Thank you for reading my long trial and error in trying to repair this issue.

iPad_Help