Okay, I got it fixed.
In case someone else has this issue, here is what I finally figured out.
Rather than using the DirectX 8 File export, I used the DirectX (JT) exporter.
I de-selected mesh only, which enabled the Animation side of the dialog.
Then I selected the range for the desired animation in frames. Like a wave from 1000-1060 or a crouch from 100-160, and gave the animation (range) a name. Something creative like, well, Wave, or Crouch, depending on which one I wanted to play.
I selected DirectX Retained mode, clicked Binary and selected OK.
The result is that the mesh imports without any distortion, and I can use the PlayObjectAnimation() command to run the animation. All is good, except... I can only play a single animation.
At 30 FPS, if I have a 2 second animation that runs from frame 1 to 60 and export it as "crouch," no problem.
I don't see any way to export more than one named animation using this exporter. So I tried to put a second animation at the end of "Crouch" that runs from frame 61 through 121. Still 2 seconds. I can play the entire 4 second animation set just fine, but if I try to specify the start and end times so I can play one animation or the other by itself, the model just sits there and does nothing.
I'd rather not have to use a different model for each animation... Anybody have any thoughts on what I might be doing wrong?
Thanks,
JW