No word back from Dreamhost support, but it appears as if many DH customers are experiencing similar issues with other applications. I managed to fix my issue by logging into my DH account and changing the PHP version from 5.2.x -> 4.4.x and then back to 5.2.x.
Hope this helps someone
I am experiencing the same issues with my bbPress install. It was working fine before and I have not changed anything either. I figure the host (Dreamhost) has changed some configuration or other. I have contacted them and am waiting to hear back.