I had much the same problem too. I got a message at the top of the page when I accessed ARRSE that it wasn't possible to send e-mails to my Google account. I found out that I could message an alternative e-mail address that I have, but I couldn't e-mail back to the Google account. The ARRSE message stated that I should check the (Google) e-mail address and perhaps substitute it. The address is correct, so I entered it again. Then I got a message this morning from ARRSE that I had to confirm the account. That was about 11:00 hrs this morning, but I'd already received e-mails to the Google account at about 10:00 hrs, so I asked for the ARRSE e-mail confirmation to be sent again. It was and I acknowledged it, so far so good. However, my Google account now tells me that I have 104 unread messages as a basis - which I don't understand.
Furthermore, on the ARRSE "Alerts" bit, I had an alert number of "1" that started about a week ago. Any number higher than that meant that I actually had new alerts. However, that number increased to "6" a day or two ago. So I now know that any number higher than that means I have new alerts. It's a bit confusing at first, but you get used to it.
MsG