so after some googling research I discovered a third party ftp control for sql server 2000. and it works well. It has a multitude of ftp-related configuration settings as you can see in the various screenshots.  of particular interest to me was the ability to do file filters.  because most of my files are dated zip files, I really needed something that could handle dynamic naming.  the sqldts control allows me to specify a formatted date filename for use in the ftp retrieval. and to top it off...this particular control will allow me to setup multiple file transfers in one object...something that the stock object wouldnt allow me to do with dynamic SourceFilename.  my initial test phase is showing a more stable product.