>I enforeced using SET REPROC TO AUTOMATIC on all our projects.
Jess,

That is exactly where your problem lies then, for the help file;

"TO AUTOMATIC

Specifies that Visual FoxPro attempts to lock the record or file indefinitely (equivalent to setting nAttempts to –2). This clause is similar to setting nAttempts to -1, except that it includes the facility to quit the attempt to lock a record or file."

Change that setting. Trying to force things to work or to try forever to do something that is blocked for some reason is not the good solution. A trnasaction is exactly what you need so you change teh reproc setting. The tran will save you from problems where file 1 goes on but file 2 fails.