2 1/2 months later, I see that what shows up on APRS.fi and how long it remains as reported "packets to" or "packets from" seems a bit random. I have learned to stop worrying about it.  Since I have my own gateway and a moving vehicle with a Robust Packet beacon .. I can always verify my system is working and the long and short of it is, that's "good enough" for me.  
BTW someone on Facebook had problems with APRSISCE (greying out of 1200 baud packets or somesuch - not anything I'm ever going to be involved with) so I sent him to this group to sign up and get involved... 
Thanks Lynn!