Domains ignored on named start

[Robert G. Brown]

BIND 9.2.4 on CentOS 4.3. running with 173 domains, and just encountered a
problem when adding another domain.

in /etc/named.conf:

zone "lxatemplar.com" {
        type master; file "hisdomains/db.lxatemplar.com" ;
};

db.lxatemplar.com is a typical zone file (SOA, NS,A and MX records). I
have lots of these, many generated by script from templates. Both the zone
file and named.conf check out as OK via named-checkconf  and
named-checkzone.

Now, the DNS server is restarted, and with the new changes, we would
expect to see the new domain served, and log entries such as:
zone lxatemplar.com/IN: sending notifies (serial 2007040401)
and
received notify for zone 'lxatemplar.com'

What really happens is that neither of these entries appear, and the
domains are NOT served at all. ON inquiry, the server reports that it is
still serving 173 domains. Two more domains were configured, with the same
result.

Other attempts to fix or diagnose the problem have included moving zone
records around in named.conf, and typing the records (in case a script has
inserted a troublesome character), before more steps are taken I wanted to
ask:

  Has anyone seen this sort of problem?
  Is this symptomatic of some sort of exploit?
  What are the next steps YOU would take to diagnose or isolate the problem?

I am considering replacing named.conf with a very much smaller file,
referencing only the new domains, to make sure that there are no side
effects introduced by other zone files or records. Perhaps I need do this
a zone at a time, until the problem is encountered again. Still,
opportunities to do this sort of thing are fleeting and rare, given usage.
I am hoping that I can upgrade my way out of the problem, as new machines
are coming, which will be configured with newer versions. However, none of
these are fixes which show the underlying problem.

  I look forward to input from this list.

  Thanks and Regards, Best to all for the holidays!

      ---> RGB <---

   Looking forward to your replies!

   With Best Regards, and the Best for the Holidays,
   ---> RGB <---