Thanks to a link from another posting I may have found my answer.  Lost
which post it was because machine locked up, but I managed to find my way
back to Slipstick pertinent info and Sue Mosher's site.  Although the
webcast concerning custom contacts was near useless, info from these links
may be showing me the problem.  It does seem odd that one can do the
customizing without adequate warning of consequences.  So for those unaware,
do research before jumping in and creating custom contact forms.  Some of
the caveats and potential problems are shown at the above mentioned sites.
http://www.outlookcode.com/d/contactform.htm
http://www.slipstick.com/contacts/index.htm

At this time I don't know if my problem is fixable, but intend to revert to
the standard form and then use a more cautious approach, probably avoiding
any alteration to the first tab of the contact form as a starting point.
Hopefully I will not lose any info particularly from my database of VFW
members.

Norman