| I think Firefox has a dns cache expiration which I need
| to set to zero before it will "reread" the DNS cache...
|

I think you're right. I have all 3 dnsCache* values set
to 0. I ran into the problem awhile back when I couldn't
reach a couple of news sites for several days. They had
changed their IP. I don't remember what the default
value is but it shouldn't be more than maybe 12 hours.

This is assuming you put 127.0.0.1 localhost as the first
line in your HOSTS file, and that the site you tested
with matched the subdomain string as well as the domain
string. In other words, 127.0.0.1 abcdef.somewhere.com
will only block abcdef.somewhere.com. It won't block
abcdefg.somewhere.com or www.somewhere.com.

Also, a side note: The Stormin' in home repair is
Stormin' Mormon, not Norman.