iPhone 4 only recognized once; after unplugging, shows up in Computer, but not iTunes

Alright, so this is truly bizarre folks. When I restart my computer and load up iTunes, my iPhone 4 is recognized just fine. But as soon as I unplug it and plug it back in, it stops showing up in iTunes (and fails to be recognized by jailbreakers, etc. -- phone is not jailbroken though). It still charges, a sound chimes from Windows, and it shows up in My Computer.

I've tried all the steps listed on Apple's website for when your computer recognizes your phone but it doesn't show up in iTunes. I've also tried the method of disabling all startup services but iTunes and QuickTime. It is only detected once. The only way to get it detected by iTunes again is by restart.

I'm using Windows 8... think that could be an issue?