[VP needs help]

I'm confused on the definitions of row field "items" limits vs. number of
rows in use, and "items" in a field and report.

Help bulletin 264626 states there is a limit of "8,000 items in a PivotTable
report".

HB 211517 states "There is a limit of 8,000 unique items per row field,
column field, or page field." And "The prduct of the number of items in all
row fields in a PivotTable cannot exceed ...approx. 2.1 billiion items."

Here is my problem. Existing PT report suddenly started showing error
message on Excel 2000 or earlier versions when trying to use drop down sort
box from Page field. Says "Unable to make change. Too many row field
items...drag one of the row fields to Page field location or delete from PT."
When I do either of these I can sort the drop down box again. Newer Excel
versions have no problem sorting, I'm guessing since they can handle up to
32,500 items in a field. I am trying to understand what exactly is the
limiting factor for the older versions. One expert is telling me that the
total number of report rows has a 2800 line limit but I can't find that
anywhere in the Help database. Year end report for last year was just under
2800 total rows and works fine for all versions. Currently trying to
consolidate data to get down to 2800 rows hoping report will again work on
older versions. Any insite would be appreciated.