>Just a heads up that I also use SET ENGINEBEHAVIOR 70 because of some ways that I use SQL-Select grouping.
>
>There is an index tag on invitems.invnum.
>There are typically 50 or fewer records that match the initial where clause (invitems.invnum=lnInvnum) out of 20,000+ records.

Interesting... In what way does sys(3054)'s showplan differ between the two ?
Any chance of sending the tables and queries via mail for a look ?

curious

thomas