Programatic updates not reflected in defect

I'm updating a defect, programmatically, and no errors or exceptions are taking place.  The updates are not showing up in the defect.  The same exact logic works on most all other defects in that repository and on other repositories.  I'm trying to figure out what may be happening. 

I had noticed this problem a few weeks ago and the problem just magically went away.  Now it is showing up again.

I do not have access to the server side logs but can engage the RTC server admin if necessary.  I'm wondering if anyone has run into something similar or can speculate on what may be happening.

PS - I'm able to update the defect, via the web interface, using that same set of credentials.