Bret,

Remember that SET ANSI determines how comparisons between strings of different lengths are made with the = operator in Visual FoxPro SQL commands.

If SET ANSI is ON, FoxPro pads the shorter string with the blanks needed to make it equal to the longer string's length. The two strings are then compared character for character for their entire lengths.

If SET ANSI is OFF, the two strings are compared character for character until the end of the shorter string is reached.

I know these apply to SQL statements made directly to FoxPro; however, I do not know how the comparison is made (or controlled) via ODBC. In any event, it may have some relevance to your question.