Thanks Marko for your input. The point of the dos_dir is to build a list of all the .lsp files in a folder. Then the repeat loop will load each one. The folder is intended to host a suite of programs. As each new program is written the /T command will load all .lsp files including new ones. This functionality is working fine (and has been for more than 20 years).
Both loading methods point to the same location and exact same file. There is no possibility of corruption. It is the same file. There is only one. Hence my bewilderment.