Yep... Did this issue ever get resolved? I have used the ToC option in the past and right-aligning the page numbers was always the default option, but all of the sudden today I am having the same problem with right-align being grayed out. If I'm doing anything different, I'm not aware of it.
Yes, I'm using "insert table of contents" rather than one of the automatic inserts. Yes, I'm using "from template". I am creating a custom template because I don't like any of the built-in ones. I created new custom styles for my headers in the document. Yes, "show page numbers" is checked, but when I create the table, the page numbers are stuck right in front of the chapter titles instead of being right-justified. It's functional, I guess, but I'm trying to make this document professional, not silly looking.
Funny how this is the only relevant thread I turned up when I looked in Google. I wonder if this is one of those built-in flukes where one day, your perfectly-good-but-not-new version of Office just suddenly starts doing something weird for no reason, and if you call the help line, the friendly lady on the other end says "Oh yeah, sometimes that happens. They have mistakes built into them and when you run into one of those they just stop working and you just have to buy a new version of Office. It's totally our mistake but you're supposed to want to buy a new version anyway." That's what happened to me with Excel a few years ago, and I guess I forgot to be mad about it. SIGH.