Why? indeed

The PIC is probably reseting itself over and over when the Watch Dog Timer times out.

You could put a CLRWDT after start, or just lose the ASM and use

start:
goto start

- or -

STOP

_________________
Best regards,
<-- Darrel -->

Concentrate on the RED light .... You are getting sleepy ... You feel a sudden urge to contribute to this thread .... When I count to 3 .... you WILL post a reply .. 1 .. 2 .. 3 !