> > How was evdev not installed when you first started Xorg?

I really have no idea.  I haven't changed any settings since I first
reported the anomaly.

> > Did you re-emerge things with different settings after?
Nope, but I did start a cleanup process last night after having read
through Dale's rundown on what he does.

I guess for the moment, I'll have to chalk the situation up to a really
bizzare anomaly.  Once I've stepped everything, I'll be rebuilding again
(always do the process twice, once into a sandbox, the second into the
main).  However, the rebuild will consist of the latest files at the
time I start that so at this point I don't really expect the issue to
resurface.

Roger S.