Was this all started when you started attacking him for posting those guides/articles, calling him a merit whore? 

Why would you think he's doing them for merit?  I don't see how merit would have any value to him considering his account status.  Sig spammer would be a more logical accusation but he obviously puts a lot of effort into putting those long posts together, and they seem to add value to the forum - especially relative to others that attempt to make posts like his, and it seems like he sites all his sources.

Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems like you're the one out of line for attacking him as a "merit whore", and while he should of just ignored you, how about just cool it both of you?  This whole thing is stupid.