STEVE- YOU ARE THE MAN!!!!
i sent the link that you gave to my brother-in-law.. he put in his model number, the owners manual popped up, he checked the section for audio preferences.. he went and dialed it in on the TV, and what would you know, the DTS was set to OFF.. he set it to ON, put in a DTS movie, and by-god, it went to working.
i very much appreciate you posting that link. there is no telling how long this problem would have gone unsolved, and i was so relieved to find out just how easy it was to fix.
once again, it just goes to prove how helpful and knowledgeable everyone is around here. and i noticed our conversation has helped someone else to fix their problem. i knew i kept hangin around here for something...
thanks again to all.
bigjohn