Can I disable Nikon's image protect feature?

I've changed my auto focus settings to use the ae-L/af-L button on the back of the body for focus lock instead of the shutter button. I'm loving it, except for one issue.

I'm checking photos as I go and switching back to shooting pretty quickly. I keep wondering why my auto focus won't work, while inadvertently locking my images and missing important shots.

Is there a way to turn the image lock feature off so if I use the ae-L/af-L button in display mode it will just go back to shooting mode and focus the lens?

Nikon D5200

I own the D5200 and I'm trying to recreate what you're asking about but I'm not sure I've got it quite like you do. Here's a suggestion. Set the ae-L/af-L button to the AF-ON option. This will allow you to "back button auto focus." See link. I like this setup the best. Try it and see if that solves your issue. Hope this helps.

Read

Look on page 166 of your user manual and make sure that you have picked the correct option when assigning the role of the button