in live chess, i was earning over ten points in games against opponents that had, say, scores in the 1240s against mine in the low 1100s. but in the last few games i won against such opponents, i am now getting 4 points per game. why?

Appears the ratings calculation fix has been applied to Live Chess. The RD value in the Glicko formula is now allowed to drop lower than it did before.

Your RD is very low so your rating will not swing wildly.

You can wade into the debate here.