Rob, thanks, I won't flash the phone.

Matt, what I have looks different. I'll post a screenshot when I get the chance.

I am afraid to speak too soon, but it seems that after removing completely the "imported on...." tag, the phone # issue has gone. I'll confirm this after more extensive testing.

I noticed that tagging and un-tagging contacts from the phone is not reliably replicated in gMail. Sometimes changes need to be applied twice or more times. But, eventually, changes are reflected on gMail too.