Kobra writes:

Sure enough as soon as I got leveled off on the first airway (V16) I called
approach and requested my IFR flight plan be activated. The response was,
"...I can't activate you're flight plan unless you fly 5 miles northeast..."
Of course I was headed southwest. I turned around and flew about 8 miles
before I again asked for my plan to be opened. I was told to standby and
after another 2 minutes finally got my plan activated.

Now, my question is: If I wasn't in his airspace (which I think I was)
couldn't he have just told me to continue and contact Atlantic City approach
to open my plan? Do you think I was being "paid back" for circumventing
ATC's authority?

Perhaps your originally planned route caused a problem for traffic, which is
why ATC had you waiting so long. Then, when you took off VFR and trying to
activate the plan, the same traffic issue arose, so he had to turn you down
unless you could go a different way that he could clear (which he probably
would have cleared you for if you had filed it originally, too).

Why assume that the controller is trying to get back at you? You may have
wanted a route that he couldn't easily accommodate immediately, so whether you
were on the ground or in the air, you'd have to wait for that route.