Ahh, I believe this has finally solved my issue! I'm able now to suppress the reset when the PHP code opens the serial port and it seems to be working now. Thank you all again for your help and advice. I'm working on the code now to finalize the project. I've got my servos in the mail this weekend, and by next weekend (time permitting) I'll have a viewable pan/tilt web cam for you all!
Thanks again.
(ps, I'll make a detailed writeup about the whole process so others can learn from my mistakes)