It may prove helpful to know, in detail, how you imported the contacts.

I exported the file from gmail as a csv file ..clicked the import button and followed the default process. I didn't change any options

Okay, I think csv files are dark magic and I've always found them tricky. My solution that normally works is several steps: - in thunderbird, in addressbook pane, create a csv of whatever is there, hopefully at least 2 or 3 addresses. - what this does is provide a template to use as a guide for your csv file. Review the layout, especially the top line in the exported TB csv file, and adjust yours accordingly. - with this done, the import is generally successful.

Before I found your reply, I discovered that halfway down the list, some of my contacts are showing up. Those blank fields are populated.. weird, right? What I was doing is clicking on the blank spaces..and then clicking edit, and manually filling in the display name field. Apparently, some of my addresses didn't break down into all the right categories. There are less than 50 left..it's going to be a long afternoon.

thank you