>>
>>How about posting the query?
>
>Here it is:
>
>SELECT PROPERT3.BORO, PROPERT3.BLOCK, PROPERT3.LOT, PROPERT3.TAXYEAR,;
> CERTFILE, certothr, REQUEST,AUDITOR, COMPLETE, CONFREQ1, CORPCOUN, CONFDATE,;
> RESULT, RJIFILED, NOTES FROM PROPERT3 LEFT OUTER JOIN CONFSTAT ON ;
> PROPERT3.BORO+STR(PROPERT3.BLOCK,6,0)+STR(PROPERT3.LOT,6,0)+;
> STR(PROPERT3.TAXYEAR,4,0)= CONFSTAT.BORO+STR(CONFSTAT.BLOCK,6,0);
> +STR(CONFSTAT.LOT,6,0)+STR(CONFSTAT.TAXYEAR,4,0) INTO CURSOR TMP_CURS;
> WHERE (CERTOTHR = 'Y' OR CERTFILE <> {}) ORDER BY PROPERT3.BORO,;
> PROPERT3.BLOCK, PROPERT3.LOT, PROPERT3.TAXYEAR, CONFDATE

I'll try to reformat this in the style I normally use:

SELECT ;
A.Boro, ;
A.Block, ;
A.Lot, ;
A.TaxYear, ;
B.CertFile, ;
B.CertOthr, ;
B.Request, ;
B.Auditor, ;
B.Complete, ;
B.ConfReq1, ;
B.CorpCoun, ;
B.ConfDate, ;
B.Result, ;
B.RJIFiled, ;
B.Notes ;
FROM Propert3 A ;
LEFT OUTER JOIN ConfStat B ;
ON A.Boro + STR(A.Block, 6, 0) + STR(A.Lot, 6, 0) + STR(A.TaxYear, 4, 0) <b>==</b> ;
B.Boro + STR(B.Block, 6, 0) + STR(B.Lot, 6, 0) + STR(B.TaxYear, 4, 0) ;
WHERE (B.CertOthr <b>==</b> "Y" OR CertFile <> {}) ;
INTO CURSOR Tmp_Curs ;
ORDER BY A.Boro, A.Block, A.Lot, A.TaxYear, B.ConfDate

For readability I've used table aliases. Mixed case is a lot easier to read; personally I use upper case to distinguish VFP commands/functions etc.

Perhaps most importantly, wherever you're doing a string comparison I've replaced "=" with "==" (bold font). This forces an exact match. Also, if there's a chance that some strings may be upper case and others mixed or lower case, you should use UPPER() or LOWER() to force the comparison strings to be the same case.

Having said all that, it still doesn't help you with your problem. Are you working against tables on a local HD or against a server? If the latter, what is the network type, and what client software does your machine use to connect to the network?

Also, although the source tables may be small, the result set may not be... how many rows is the query returning when it is successful? You might find you get a lot fewer with exact matching and/or using UPPER() etc.