When the program spins the first time, I get "connecting..." in the serial terminal. Every time I (succesfully) trigger the transmitter, I get the same thing. Nothing progresses beyond that.
Also, in my original Receiver sketch, I send pin13 high every time a message is received from the transmitter. When I run the Receiver sketch on its own, pin13 (LED) lights up every time I trigger the transmitter and the message from the transmitter appears in the serial window. With your code, I can get the LED to light up intermittently and when it does, instead of the char msg from the transmitter appearing in the serial terminal, I get "connecting..." and then nothing else happens.
BTW: I'm VERY appreciative of your help.
Also, SGU!