Hi Eric,
Dunno if CON works that way but VAR does.
Code:
TrisC = %11110111             ' portC.3 as Output all others as Inputs
INCLUDE "Modedefs.bas"        ' must include if not using mode
LCD VAR PortC.3

start:
SEROUT LCD,6,$FE,1 "Hello World"
pause 1000

main:
do something
goto main
end
JS

I personally never use the mode command preferring to use T9600 or N9600, just my personal choice. - PBP manuel ver 2.47 page 137 says pin may be a constant or variable number 0 - 15 or a variable name like PortA.0