CrossRoads:
Was that some specific date-code lot of parts? I have never seen that happen.
Yes, (datecode 1017) was mentioned for the avrfreaks site poster, but not clear if it applies to other date codes. Probably need to research Atmel errata notes for that chip series. I'm pretty sure it was also limited to DIP package only, but that sounds kind of strange as I would think the dies are the same for any datecode chips made?
Lefty