I wish to format a document with a first page consisting of Headings and some text paragraphs in single column format followed by subheadings and text in two-column format.

A) I insert a continuous section break after the last para I want in single column layout.
B) I alter the next para (i.e. the next section) to 2-column but find that column 1 is formatted correctly, but column 2 spills onto a new page. All following text is formatted correctly into two columns side by side.
C) If I insert an extra empty paragraph prior to the section break, columns 1 and 2 format correctly, but I have unwanted spacing and inelegant use of an empty paragraph that destroys formatting consistency.
D) If I now delete the blank paragraph before the section break, columns 1 and 2 stay properly formatted! The formatting markup looks identical to B) above.
QUESTION 1) What am I not understanding about section breaks?
QUESTION 2) Is this just an oddity (problem ?) of Word 2007?