[3.5] Epic levels

[Halaster]

I'm sure this has been asked a few times already, but either the forum search is broken, or my browser is. Anyway, I am a little confused about the whole epic level thing. Mostly because whoever wrote it seems to be confused too.
So, let me explain what I did understand:
1. There's character level (all levels added up) and class level (only the levels in one class). Fine.
2. When you exceed class level twenty, your class progresses differently. Fine.
3. When you exceed character level twenty, you are epic, and everything suddenly progresses differently. Huh?

You see where my problem lies? The epic level rules use character levels for one part of the time and class level for another. That doesn't go very well together.
Example: I play a Barbarian/Sorcerer/Dragon Disciple in a current game. Now, if things go as I think they will, this guy will hit level 20 in roughly this combination: Bbn 6/Src 8/ Drg 6 or something similar.
If I get the epic rules right, that character can never

1. cast 5th level spells
2. grow wings
3. have an indomitable will

because these are all one-time-features of his classes, or spellcasting progression, and both stop happening at character level 20, regardless of class level.
So, questions:
1. is that so, or am I just imagining it?
2. if so, why? Why can't characters just progress in their classes like they used to, beyond level 20? I understand that if you never multiclass, there wouldn't be a progression, so you need to use epic. But for multiclass characters that don't need to use that, why force them to?

[FishAreWet]

You can keep multiclasses as normal.

[Runestar]

Class features continue to accrue all the way to lv20 of that class before epic features kick in.

Say you are a paladin10/monk10 (say). Over the course of your adventure, you gain 10 more monk lvs. You are now character lv30. You get epic bab/save progression instead of your normal monk bab/saves, but you continue to get the monk's class features from lv11 to lv20. Afterwards, if you decide to take a new class or continue with paladin, you get their class features as appropriate. If you want to take monk21+, then you use the monk's epic progression as listed in the ELH.

[weenie]

What about if you're a wizard 15/archmage 5? If you take another level of wizard, do you progress the epic wizard variant, or just regular wizard until you're level 25?

[Eldariel]

What about if you're a wizard 15/archmage 5? If you take another level of wizard, do you progress the epic wizard variant, or just regular wizard until you're level 25?

Regular. This is why it's important to finish a 10-level PrC (or just 20 in a base class) before epic; to be able to enter Epic PrC and start accumulating epic bonus feats immediately. Though Epic PrCs alleviate this somewhat.

[Halaster]

OK. So the chapter "Class Features" on this page is simply trying to confuse me by using "level" instead of "class level" after the previous chapter talks about character level all the time. Great.

Sorry for bothering you.