What in my data partition prevents writes to internal storage? topic

There is something in my data partition that prevents writes to the internal "virtual SD" storage. For instance, Google Camera requests that I insert an SD card for my device (Moto X 2014), which is absurd as there is no SD slot. If I factory reset, writes work just fine as well as Google Camera. If I restore my TWRP data partition only, the problem returns. Any ideas? I feel its probably a simple problem to correct, but I can't seem to nail it.