Problem Solved!!!

Here's the current circuit I was describing with the LCD data bus obviously omitted:



It does drive a 12 Volt relay this way if the other end of the relay coil is connected to a 12 Volt source.



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I used the same transistor to switch the positive line to the LCD this way:



I could always use the first circuit to drive a relay that in turn switches the LCD,
but that wouldn't be very solid state would it?

Q for Darrel, Does resetting the FLAGS var affect any other PBP related stuff?
I have my own flags set and variables stored in RAM while I'm turning the VFD on & off.
It's working perfectly, but I don't want it to break anything else software-wise.
Cheers, Brek.