[a_c_s]

How many contacts do you have? I've had similar (although not exactly the same) issues with contacts and outlook in the past, including annoying duplicates...if it wouldn't be too time consuming, try creating a new profile in your XP or Vista desktop/laptop, create a new contact list there, and try syncing again after a hard reset...if you are still having an issue, the culprit is unlikely to be Outlook, though I suspect in this case it is.... good luck...