OP, again :(  I "stowed" the dish, and then powered it back up.  Nothing.  I also tried to reset the receiver using the red button.  That only made things worse, it is in mid-reset and stuck in "searching for signal 771".  I am a fulltimer, lots of sat dish use and lots of bumpy miles along the way.  The system has been flawless for almost 5 yrs.  I am guessing, based on the feedback here, that I have a connection issue - coax or lnb -  I know I have a clear sky and weather is not an issue.  It's strange, all was working ok until 2 days ago, then whammy
I will call directv tomorrow morning, and see if they will dispatch a service tech.  I have no issue paying for the call, I do not have the protection plan.  If direct doesn't send someone, can I just use any "mom and pop" type sat system installer type?  I have no idea who does this kind of work, but I know enough to know that I don't know how to do it :)  (wish I did)
thanks all