Key importation mystery

[Mark Sargent]

Hi all,
  am having a an issue importing keys using a c# application.
The app uses command shell piping to call the basic --import command. 

The command executes ok and no errors result, but if I list the keys the key is missing. If I repeat the command it will eventually import, the success failure ration is about 1 in 10. 

Further notes:
There is only one application making one request at a time.
I have added sleeps/waits of about 20 seconds before and after the import to determine if there is some threading issue but no luck.

thought suggestions greatly appreciated

Mark