After spending 2+ hours in chat with an Avast tech support person (who was spinning his wheels), I finally got the issuse resolved. The resolution came from another tech who I had on the phone, this after the beforementioned tech wanted me to wipe my PC and see what happens.
It took the phone tech less than five minutes, and BAM!!!! it was fixed.
So, check this if you are having the problem that I was having -
From the Avast interface, select
Settings
Updates
Proxy Settings (there are three possible bullet settings),choose Direct connection (no proxy)
OK
Normally it is set to Auto detect (use Internet Explorer settings), but I suspect that if you are using a wireless data device like AT&T 3G it could present a problem. This is just a guess, as I have not been able to replicate the problem.