Renders the same (incorrect) frame no matter where I am in animation?

I’ve figured out the cause of the problem but not the solution.

Problem: When rendering either one frame or an animation, will render the same (incorrect) frame over and over again no matter where I am in the animation. The regular view shows one thing, it renders something from one spot in the animation and only that.

Cause: I may be missing part of this – I don’t fully understand it. But I used a series of metaballs to simulate pouring liquid. When I uncheck the layer with the metaballs, it renders fine. But obviously, I need the metaballs so… yeah. It’s a dilemma.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.