I need to clear my head and rethink this. I just turned off the power up timer and it's a little better. Removing the power-up timer no longer shuts down the CAN network but my program still doesn't work. This was a significant issue because if the 18F wasn't reset before the CAN network came on line, my car would be disabled (i.e. no throttle and all warning lights illuminated.)

I must have changed the settings along the way and forgot I did so. Let me do some more investigating as this issue is most likely caused by me. Thanks for turning on that proverbial light bulb in my head.