ok. i'm pissed off now.
btw hard boot of processor did not help.
.5s pulse on with 2 sec delay in the preset did not help.
the trace is not showing any of the delays. in fact the log shows only a 2 tenths delay between the power on and the source select:

52Display Power On Preset Run01:46:39.47 PM
53Theater, Display Device POWER_ONTrue01:46:39.49 PM
54Theater, Display Device HDMI_1True01:46:39.51 PM
55Theater, Display Device HDMI_1False01:46:39.52 PM

I think I remember that delays were shown in the trace previously. i am not seeing any ?!

Question: is the time in the trace the actual execution time or just the log time? if just the logging time that could explain not seeing a pause in the log.