InfoPath Dev

 It is just the only time I've run into that specific validation error - when a people picker control is being populated incorrectly. :)

 HAHAHAHAHA!!  SUCCESS!!

Hilary, I can't thank you enough for your help.  I don't know why the form was still not submitting after I removed the rule to set that people picker field YESTERDAY.. and why it decided to focus its wrath on the ONE field... but NOW it worked.  OH finicky infopath forms!!  You vex me so.

Although not tied together at all... in ANY WAY.  Once I changed the rule on the button to set the three options on the people picker to a specific name, it didn't give a hoot about the darn dropdown field it so vehemently hated before.

Why it didn't throw an error over a year ago when it was first set up that way??  Sigh.  Thank you Hilary!

 I wonder if an old version was cached locally (since InfoPath caches filler forms). I'm just glad it is working correctly again. :)