Hey BobK, thanks a lot for the updated schematic. I understand the sequence you've described and the schematic now.

I constructed your updated circuit (minus the "dial" relay) and tested a little circuit by switching two relays to light two LEDs to make sure I understood the connections and wrote the proper code (per your sequence), and that worked. However, when I connected the phone line to the circuit and executed the programs, I couldn't dial out and the relays just switched back and forth.

I suspect there a grounding issue going on here and that the PIC is resetting itself somehow, but I have no idea how to troubleshoot this. And this only happens when the phone line is physically connected to the circuit; disconnect the line from the circuit jack and the relays work. Any advice?