After multiple online searches, I couldn’t find any resolutions for this issue.

Even worse, it would add the entire paragraph to my TOC. When I applied my level 3 heading styles, it would apply the style to the entire paragraph. With my final research paper submission approaching, the need for including a table contents (TOC) has made me realized how troublesome inline level 3 headings were. I’ve never really had trouble applying level 3 headings to my research papers in the past until now.