After uninstalling and reinstalling the autofs package on that Debian server - it started working. Since I also tweaked the nsswitch.conf and auto.master files I'm not sure if something else fixed it, but it's working now. Hands off. The next box I install I'll actually keep notes on and use it for a model to install the rest of the new servers coming in. This one was just practice - we will be using it to monitor some UPSes that seem to have issues with delivering good power.