I've tried unlocking/locking the screensets (which I don't use at all) and different settings on the Lenses thingy (which I also don't use at all) and still every time I re-load a project all the tracks I've hidden reappear and have to be hidden again.  As sometimes this can be many, many tracks it is VERY frustrating.
 
Does ANYONE know a:  what is causing this and b: how in gawd's green earth I can fix it???????
 
 

The only 2 thing I know that could affect this are those you've addressed - screensets and lenses.
 
You say you've locked/unlocked screensets.
Ok, back up a step:  hit 1 on your number keypad to load the stored settings for screenset 1
In the control bar, make sure it's UNlocked
Hide the tracks you want hidden
LOCK the screenset again
Set Lenses to NONE
SAVE project and close
 
If these tracks are visible upon reopening it suggests the project is corrupt or it's something else beyond what I can suggest
 
Can you get the settings to stick on a new project?
 

This was a bug, Ben and I trouble shot it several months ago. I traced my problem down to using old project templates I had created in earlier versions of Sonar. I started fresh, making a brand new project template starting from an empty project and the problem was gone. How ever he did some under the hood adjustments to prevent future problems.
 
One can test this theory by opening up a new blank project, add the tracks that you are having problems with.
Save, exit and test.

Thanks fellers...I'll try both methods and see what's up.  Is there a way to just turn lenses and screensets OFF??
 

Screensets are either locked or unlocked, there is no on/off
 
Setting lenses to none does what you want