>>>
>>>is cfjobtyp a 'child' to any of the tables you're using in the form?
>>
>>I did some more work on this today, trying to get to the root of the problem, and from what I can determine (using a suspend at the top of the Load event for the form) my two tables are somehow being opened and evidently establishing a relationship themselves with no intervention on my part. That's why I get that cyclic relation error (I tested at the command window) when I further down in the load event try to set a relation (it's as though they decided who was going to be the parent and the child). But seriously, what comes before the load event that could cause tables to 'magically' open and create a relationship? I moreorless need to trace the logic from the moment I click the Run button, because I don't have a clue. How do I trace from the start?
>
>the dataenvironment code is performed before the load command.

Yep, it was the dataenvironment causing the problem (Janet you were on the right track). I had thought I got rid of all the tables in the DE (which is why I answered I wasn't using it), but evidently I somehow acquired some new connections unbeknownst to me. Thank you both very much for your help.