I have buldging discs and ddd and sciatica. i've been experiencing a painful burning sensation on the upper portion of my back. what could this be?

Unlikely: Unless you have a cervical or upper thoracic disc herniation this is unlikely the cause of your symptoms.

Spine Pain Options: This chronic pain in the distribution as you suggested is the result of an irritated nerve or facet joints or other injury typically in the lumbar spine (low back) which are caused by herniated disks, spinal stenosis or degenerative disc disease, etc requiring further evaluation by a spine specialist and may be candidate for facet injections/radiofrequency ablation and epidural steroid injection.