OK - electrician just left. Mysteries solved -- and even he was confused
for a moment. I'll tell you why this was good news for me in a sec. Net: It
was the outlet not the dryer. The source of the "pop" remains a mystery.

First he verified the outlet had no power, then checked behind the outlet
and dryer panel for any burnt/blackened wires that might have explained the
"pop" sound - nothing. Checked the breaker box and asked me several times
if I was SURE there wasn't another panel. Apparently the breakers labeled
MAIN usually indicate the presence of another panel. I didn't know of one.
Made me wonder if there was one, because I didn't flip those when I was
flipping all the others because I figured I didn't need to flip the MAIN
power switch since I was trying to reset the specific breaker that
controlled the outlet for the dryer.

You're probably snickering by now. ;-) If you've already guessed that the
breakers labeled MAIN are 30 amp (hey, they were the only ones withOUT a
number on them unlike the 20's and the 50's!) and that they are indeed the
breakers for the dryer, they *were* tripped and once turned off and on
(whoever it was who said they could take some effort to push back on was oh
so right!) everything was fine, you are right. Dryer works fine.

*sigh* I am using the electricians momentary confusion regarding the
mislabeled breakers as justification for *my* misguided logic in not
resetting them originally.

$40, but hey, I'm thinking through I definitely got $40 bucks worth of
education through all this! ;-) Thanks for the help!

Laurie --- debated telling the whole truth but decided it was too funny not
to share