Roger that. I wondered if spell check might not be involved somehow...
Out of curiosity, what part of the country are you from that used “were” in funny places as part of the dialect?
I’m English - North Yorkshire WAS where I was raised (nearly slipped!). There are all sorts of odd (or very odd) ways of saying things there, really old and harking back to Old Saxon and Viking, and your mind just accepts them. The stuff you learn as a kid never really goes away.
Have you ate, instead of have you eaten, for example.
I’m pretty scrupulous about using spell check, but if that red line isn’t there, just don’t notice sometimes.