OldTrader, You can also call the involvong brokers (e.g., Ameritrade, IB, etc.) to find out more information for your reference. Try to get the compliance department.
If you're a PDT and your margin equity (cash + holdings minus options) falls below $25K, my understanding was that you can still trade, but not using any margin, for 90 days. Meaning you can only open a position if you have cash lying around in the account. Was your broker doing anything more restrictive than this?