Okay not (0,0) but insert it in negative coords. Please let me know the pitfalls that awit if we try this (sheepishly asking for even more help!!).
That "who" would be....(insert drum roll).... AUTODESK!!!!
Taken from the C3D 2009 readme,
"Display Issues For Drawings with Large Coordinates
In some situations, AutoCAD Civil 3D models may not be displayed correctly when rendered, animated, or viewed with certain visual styles. The model or parts of it disappear, do not display materials, or may appear to have holes.
Usually these errors occur if the drawing has large coordinates. If you xref the drawing into another drawing and move the origin to a lower coordinate (closer to 0,0), the viewing commands will work as expected.
To prevent these display errors
Open the drawing in AutoCAD Civil 3D.
Zoom to the extents of the drawing.
Move the drawing cursor to the approximate center of the graphics extents.
Write down the coordinates (X,Y,Z).
Start a new drawing from one of the AutoCAD Civil 3D templates.
Attach the original drawing as an xref.
Specify the insertion location as (-X,-Y,-Z), using the coordinates you obtained in Step 4 above and entering minus (-) signs in front of each. This will result in the approximate center of the graphics extents being positioned at 0,0 when the xref is attached.
Render the drawing or set your specific visual style.