>I use _Screen.Visible = .F. as the very first line of the MAIN.PRG to prevent the VFP screen from showing. This causes a flicker because the screen insists on showing itself before this command is issued. So for a split second you see the VFP _Screen. Is there any way to prevent this flicker?????

You can use SCREEN = OFF in your config file to prevent the _screen from every showing.