It is environmental. You don't say how you are growing these (temps, watering frequency, potting mix used, fertilizer, the amount of light, etc.) so can't comment on what exactly you've done that could be the problem.

Tomato seeds last for years if they are kept dry, dark, and at room temperature.

Rodney

Thanks Rodney,

No fertilizer, starter soil pods (soil disks that expand with water by Jiffy) I have a temperature mat 60-70 degrees, it has been rainy, but using window light that gets about 4-6 hours of UV exposure.

Google "damp-off" of seedlings.

You have several things working against you - the pellets, grossly insufficient lighting, leggy seedlings with poor circulatory systems, and likely poor air circulation as well. Add over-watering to that mix (which the pellets encourage) and you end up with the condition called damp off, a fungus disease. The seedlings infected with damp-off cannot recover.

Dave

any salvation or start over? and if so recommendations?

I would start over. I'm sure the seeds are fine. I have seeds that are much older than that which still produce great plants. Get some potting mix and plastic pots. You should be fine.

Linda

shop lights that can be lowered to just above the seedlings for lights, a small fan for air circulation and what has worked for me when damping off was a problem, I water with a weak solution of chamomile tea. Not everyone agrees with me that this helps, we all have our own unique systems and things we have found that work. That tip is what worked for me. I agree you should ditch the jiffy pots. Ugh.

I think the mistake here is in accusing the seeds of your problems. If the seeds germinated, they did their job. Period. Your problems almost certainly have to do with the way those seedlings were treated. I suspect if you look hard enough, you'll see something different that you've done.

Tomato seeds can stay viable for 20+ years. 2 years is nothing. I would still expect close to 100% viability from 2 year old seeds.

That said, seeds can carry pathogens that cause damping off. I had never had problems with tomato seedlings damping off, but this year, I've had a % of seedlings from ONLY one variety from one particular source damp off. Nothing else has damped off.

So... blaming seeds for damping off isn't ridiculous.

BUT given the other symptoms (leggy, not thriving, etc.), I would suspect that, as others have said, you need to re-examine your setup. You may just have gotten lucky in past years. Sometimes, you can have a setup that is leaving you wide open for trouble but luck out for a few years in a row.

You need lots more light, potting mix in real pots, not those Jiffy cubes. Probably in the past, the outside weather was not as cloudy and your seedlings got just enough light to have a better immune system.