Think I figured it out, sort of Doug Finner 12.Dec.11 12:28 PM a Web browser Domino Designer 6.5.4All Platforms
After a long lag, I went back at this problem. This time around, it dawned on me that I we run our browsers in a pretty screwed down setup - limited permissions are the rule.
I checked the ActiveX stuff in IE and unsigned controls were disabled. Set to 'enable' and the code works.
Now the trick is to see how one 'signs' an ActiveX control that's not an ocx file OR if IT will open up the defaults to at least prompt users for unsigned controls (and that ain't gonna happen...).