So even if I delete it (which I did) and add it again it will still do this?  (that's exactly what is happening even though I created it with the same label but different column name.)  Ugh, I'll open a HI ticket.  I didn't think I was going crazy!  This is definitely a bug!

I really think adding fields via the Form Layout is really buggy.  I created three fields that were supposed to be Choice fields and they ended up being strings, and the third field didn't even get added.  Plus this Ticket Number field problem.  I did recreate the Ticket Number field on the table itself but still getting issues.

Thanks!

Lisa