And I tried loading the transparency map into the texture winddw.  It duplicated the transparency map in the transparency window, just like it did with the texture, but if I put a texture in the texture window, it gets put into the transparency window too.
The weird thing is that if you look at the templates in the advanced material room, the Transparency Map shows the correct name of the transparency map, but it shows the image of the  texture map.

I"m sure I saw this problem posted here, but it was a long, long time ago.  I remember feeling some relief that it wasn't just me who was experiencing it.