"ahhh... you guys are indeed superheroes!  many thanks. i think that fixes my issue! thanks so much."

"so i either need a new variable for each slide or a new trigger to reset the variable to falise (i.e. when timeline starts on new slide) ..."

"I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "reset the variable" ... can you clarify?"

"I'll try to share it.. but no... I was previewing the entire scene (not just a slide) and then previewed the entire project and the slide..."