PIC24F - UART does not "see" the last three bytes of received packet (herb_sims)

OK guys, I'm pulling my hair out here:I am interfacing a PIC24F UART (2) to a FTDI USB-UART chip. When I run the PIC program the received packet is offset by three bytes in my buffer (the first three bytes are 0x00). I see the COMPLETE packet from the FTD..