>>>>We'd like to make the rewrite fairly data driven, so the first question is: Does .NET allow the equivalent of VFP's EVALUATE(lcCommand) ?
>

Not really, but kind of ;-) No, it doesn't have a built-in EVALUATE() command. However, you can use third party libraries like FLEE which can probably get you what you need. Or Microsoft's new Rosyln compiler will also make this kind of thing much easier. There are also ways of creating plug-ins that might be able to be used as a replacement. Or building some type of rules engine (possibly in combination with the above).