Dear Jason,
I enjoyed your paper. I think you made your point regarding Photon Shift Theory. I had a few technical differences:
On page one, you said:
"Virtual photons are the mediators of the electromagnetic force, and permit color charge to operate so that gluons can mediate the strong force. Photons are the first and primary form of energy...", and
"The strong force, which holds protons and neutrons (hadrons) together, is mediated by gluons. Quantum Chromo-dynamics ays that quarks and gluons are composed of fractional charges called color-charge. But fractional color charge is still electric charge; partial electric charges induce partial electric fields which are mediated by virtual photons. While gluons mediate the strong force, virtual photons are the unsung heroes that make color charge available and allow gluons to do their job."
I don't mind you relating photons with the Weak force and with Higgs, because they are all components of Standard Electro-Weak (although a Higgs might travel faster than the speed of light, and Z's and W's travel slower). I might also be OK with similarities between the photon and gravity - since gravity is due to Spacetime curvature that we observe via photons.
However, I think you should drop the photon-gluon comparison. There are implications that weak hypercharge and color charge are related by a simple fraction 3/8's at unification, but color force is stronger than EM, and has a very short range due to color confinement. The colors: Red, Green and Blue are not fractional, but the electric charges of 2/3 e and -1/3 e are fractional. However, if we defined e'=3e, then we would never have fractional electric charges with our current particle spectrum.
On page 3, you mentioned the "Free Energy Universe". Wikipedia calls it the Zero-Energy or Free-Lunch Hypothesis. You and/or your reference are mixing up terminology.
Also on page 3, you asked:
"What is the evidence that the quantum vacuum, also known as empty space, is filled with wave-functions?"
This is very similar to the Dirac Sea that I used in my essay, and to the vacuum expectation value (vev) of the Higgs Mechanism.
I think you should simplify the presentation a little bit (how ironic - I never make my ideas simple enough...), and ask for a research grant.
I see we have more in common than I previously knew - we both dropped out of U Texas (Austin) - but I was there about twenty years before you. I had qualified for the Physics Doctoral program (by completing the core coursework and qualifying seminar), but was too "burnt out" to finish a degree at that time... Years later, I completed my Doctorate at Florda State U.
Good Luck in the Essay Contest!
Dr. Cosmic Ray