This seems to have solved the problem, but now I just found a new one with my LCD display.
When I turn the contrast down - with 10K pot - below a certain level, and back up again, It displays strange characters, and must be reset. This is regardless of whether I have the logic pins connected or not. It's not a big issue, as I leave it turned up anyway, but just curious as to what could be causing this.
This is after an hour of wondering why the contrast didn't adjust at all only to find out the pin2 and pin 3 are swapped on my particular HD44780 compatible LCD (JHD204A - made in China).