DHT11s read fine from loop, but first one in list doesn't work when in timer...?

Have you looked at this page? Arduino Playground - HomePage

In there, you'll find a reference to an interrupt-driven version of the library. Follow that, and then follow the link to the GitHub page for the library. It's at GitHub - niesteszeck/idDHT11: Interrupt driven DHT11 library

No idea if that's what you want, but it might be worth a look.