[SOLVED] Problems Importing and Setting Settings

I've installed Atahualpa 3.5.1 into two WordPress 3 blogs. I've styled the theme in one of the blogs and exported its settings. I've tried to import the first blog's settings into the second blog but even though the import is reported as successful none of the imported settings stay i.e. the original (default) settings remain. I've tested the export file by importing it into another (test) WP3 blog, it works fine. I've repaired and optimized the database of the blog I need to import the settings into and I've tried entering the settings manually but the settings keep being dropped - when manually entered they remain for a short period of time then, for some unknown reason, they begin to return to their default values (not all at once). It is as though there is a ghost in the system that's undoing my work. I've disabled all plugins to ensure none are interfering with the theme (e.g. Caching plugins) but the issue remains. Do you have any suggestions for overcoming this strange error?