>I'm copying some code I found. The author uses: "RETURN (.T.)" where I am used to seeing "RETURN .T." Is this an old syntax? Is either version safer to use or are they the same?

Its the same thing, putting paranthesis around expressions just tells you the order to evaluate it, so though its not necessary with one term, it doesn't hurt anything:

?.t.
?(.t.)
?.t. or .f. and .f.
?(.t. or .f.) and .f.