Thank You.  I had everything except for the code you originally posted:

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -f [OR]

    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -d

    RewriteRule .+ - [L]

    RewriteRule ^(.+)$ r.php?_q=$1 [QSA,L]

I first put this code in the wrong place, then put it in the position you shown in your followup post.

BTW, I'm just posting this in case anyone else has the same issue.

Thanks again.