Gilbert, you problem may indeed be related to SSL, but there may be another issue if you're encrypting passwords in the database. Check out bug 783:
https://openacs.org/sdm/one-baf.tcl?baf_id=783
Somehow this prevents persistent login from working even if you've enabled it in your config file. Applying this patch fixes it.
Again, this may not be relevant, and there may be some real issues with SSL (haven't yet worked with it myself), but this *may* be part of your problem.
