I'll test the change tonight and get back with you. (at work now). At first glance it looks like it was a simple mistake on my part that I overlooked.
As to why I don't clear the screen, it's a long story. I have other things going on with my program loop that are time critical and don't want to clear it. I also don't need to clear everything, just what changes (which is why I've included white space). If I do use lcd.clear(); then it takes too long. I think around 70 or 80ms.
Thanks for all the help.