[ic] auto-populate and auto_layout problems

[NOW Website Coordinator]

I'm setting up a new Interchange 4.8.5 catalog (current Minivend 3.x user), 
and having two problems:

1) I can't get auto-populate to work completely. It keeps dying at a 
certain point in the populating -- I've modified the database numerous 
times to try and figure it out, but I can't find a pattern as to what is 
making it die.  I can delete certain records that will allow it to populate 
more categories, but it doesn't seem to work completely or point the way to 
a fix.  I am using the auto_layout page that Mike Heins sent in an earlier 
email message, with the complex search, but that doesn't seem to do it.  I 
have some groups with only one category (some work, some don't), some 
categories with multiple words (books/adult books, gifts/lapel pins) but 
nothing is obvious.

2) The search is not always accurate -- it won't necessarily find an object 
in the database, even though I can edit it online or find it via another 
search.  The SKU search for it always fails, though.  This happens with a 
number of SKUs, but not all.

I am using the default database, and a tab-delimited table (not made in Excel).

Is there a particular character that makes Interchange fail?  A particular 
pattern for the group/categories?

Thanks for any help.