ricobike
Wore out three sets of tires already!
The rim and the spokes are new and from Worksman. The spokes are 10 9/16" - and they match the length on a factory-laced older 26" rim I have. And the older rim is a cross 3. So something's off somewhere. I'll give it another go in the morning. Start in a different hole? Look into a cross 4? Maybe I messed up in what hole I started my third set of 9 in? I really appreciate everyone taking the time with me, here. I'll report back.
Yeah like everyone else is saying, your old wheel is a 4 cross. 10 9/16" should work if you lace them 4 cross. Unfortunately, I don't know of any way to easily correct this, you'll probably need to take it all apart and start over.