cck select widget no longer works as expected after installing select or other module

Normally, I can set a default value of none for a cck text field using the select widget. I also make the field required so the user has to pick one of the available options. But, after installing the select or other module, my select field widget fields no longer behave as expected. What happens is the form loads with the first value in the field selected instead of none (again, this is for the standard cck select field widget not select or other). I can change the default to one of the other items in the list and have that appear as the default, but none doesn't work. I've tried uninstalling the select or other module on a local copy of the site and then removing the field from the content type and re-creating the field from scratch, but the problem persists. I have a variety of drupal sites that I run that have never had the select or other module installed and the cck select fields behave as expected. I originally installed v1.6 of the select or other module last summer (2010) and tried upgrading to the latest version this morning, but the problem persists as described here. So, I'm at a loss right now for what to try next. Any ideas or pointers would be much appreciated. Thanks!