To make a long story short…
After about a dozen email exchanges with Epson, I was advised to call the Epson support center.
After the telephone prompts, I spoke with the tech and provided my case number. After a few minutes to allow the tech to catch up on the situation/status of all that transpired in the aforementioned email exchanges, I was again advised to delete the old printer and (re)add the shared printer via System Preferences/Print & Fax.) I did this even though I had done so via the email guidance.)
That tech could not resolve the issue so I was then handed-off to a senior tech. More of the same then transpired.
(Alas, no joy. What is so weird (to me) is that Word prints fine, but Text Edit, Mail, & Web pages do not.)
At this point the tech advised that Epson printers are guaranteed to work, but not in shared environment, and that my next course of action was to contact Apple as this is almost certainly an Apple Printer Sharing problem related to 10.6.x.
What amazed me is that a quick Google search revealed so many others that are having the same/similar problem (without a definitive solution), yet the Epson techs sounded as if this were a new problem/condition.
Perhaps 10.6.3 will put things to right.
At least the Merlot has yet to fail...
