I actually remember the red skills from classic, as you're describing, and as I've seen on project 1999 - they were either capped by your stats, or based on what type of equipment you were wearing, I believe. Though I have not had success here by removing my gear!
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It sounds likely that perhaps maybe Monks had caps on their skills based on equipment in classic and the red skills for everyone else are due to a workaround to get the classic caps.