1.44 128x128 TFT ILI9163 working fine with 2 sets of driver & libs but . . . .

You do not say WHICH library you are using.

Most have constructors that allow you to specify the RESET pin. Generally, it is the last (optional) argument. The examples often use the short form of constructor.

I would advise that you ALWAYS use the full constructor and specify the RESET pin.
The alternative is to hard-wire the RESET pin to 3.3V via a 10k pullup resistor.

David.