A little update.
I took out the lamp-it looked fine for what its worth. Certainly seemed to be seated correctly and firmly in there. Put it back in and fired it up (I had gotten the flashing lights on 5 consecutive attempts at start up over 24 hours). Sure enough it started right up. The next night (last night), I had the kids watch a movie--no issues yet. Doesnt make any sense to me.
Tony