How to remove an initial value (0) from a "Numeric Entry" field

Trey's observation set me to thinking as I too was battling with this problem. The issues were further complicated in that I am using multiple variables for each entry. In this way giving the user the option to change an entry which then corrects a total by removing the incorrect value.
The solution I used to eliminate the zero in the entry field was to fully complete the build of the slide (especially variable triggers) concerned and then to duplicate the slide. The effect is that the new slide creates fresh variables which no longer reflect a zero in the entry field.
Delete the original slide and then delete all unattached variables.
To be fair this only applies for the initial interaction, subsequent interactions and resets within the session will again display a zero.