My problem takes place when I instatiate Word97 in a Form.Method, validate the object as you requested and attempt to pass that object to functions in a procedure file:

Does an OLE object lose its contents when passed around?

Form.Method
------------
*-- let us assume that the below are valid objects
oWord = NewObject("Word.Application")
oWordDoc = NewObject("Word.Document")
WordDocumentSetup( oWord, oWordDoc )

*************************
FUNCTION WordDocumentSetup( oWord, oWordDoc )
*************************
LOCAL m.llRetVal

m.llRetVal = ( VARTYPE( oWordDoc.PageSetup ) == "O" .AND. !ISNULL( oWordDoc.PageSetup ) )

IF !m.llRetVal
=MessageBox( "oWordDoc.PageSetup does not evaluate to an object in WordDocumentSetup()", 0 + 16, "Invalid Object" )
RETURN m.llRetVal
ENDIF

WITH oWordDoc.PageSetup
.LineNumbering.Active = .F. && Program fails right here
.Orientation = wdOrientPortrait
.TopMargin = InchesToPoints(1)
.BottomMargin = InchesToPoints(.50)
.LeftMargin = InchesToPoints(1.00)
.RightMargin = InchesToPoints(1.00)
.Gutter = InchesToPoints(0)
.HeaderDistance = InchesToPoints(.80)
.FooterDistance = InchesToPoints(.50)
.PageWidth = InchesToPoints(8.5)
.PageHeight = InchesToPoints(11)
.FirstPageTray = wdPrinterDefaultBin
.OtherPagesTray = wdPrinterDefaultBin
.SectionStart = wdSectionNewPage
.OddAndEvenPagesHeaderFooter = .F.
.DifferentFirstPageHeaderFooter = .T.
.VerticalAlignment = wdAlignVerticalTop
.SuppressEndnotes = .F.
.MirrorMargins = .F.
PUBLIC m.gnWorkArea
m.gnWorkArea = .PageWidth - ( .LeftMargin + .RightMargin )
ENDWITH

RETURN( m.llRetVal )