Spoke to Orbitz, and they blamed Delta. Spoke to Delta, and they blamed Orbitz. Got Orbitz and Delta on the phone together, and Delta conceded that when they said they were honoring the fares, it was only for reservations that had been ticketed. Orbitz said that they didn't "ticket" my reservation, because the didn't get the necessary confirmation from Delta, which means that Delta wasn't allowing them to ticket the fare as booked. So if I understand correctly, Delta is telling the world that they're honoring the fares, but in reality, they only meant that they're honoring the fare IF they have actually been ticketed already, and if they could stop anyone before a fare was ticketed, then they would do so.
Question remains whether Delta's actions may be in violation of DOT regulations, if Orbitz confirmed the booking, and then Delta refused to verify the fare and allow Orbitz to issue a ticket number.