Thx Ulodesk...
...for a pull from out of nowhere. Who would have imagined the solution to the MSOffice 2010 loss of 'paste' formatting would be a.) opening any browser triggers it? ...and b.) Uninstall Skype Click-to-call is the solution??!!
Invaluable... I could have wasted endless hours attempting that on my own without ever having gotten there.
Thanks again for your ability to distill the key element from what must have been a very extensive MS technical support thread.
Best regards- Alan