Oh, hmm. How embarrassing.

As soon as I posted this I started to remember about application_top.php. In my "admin" area, which is in a folder, I couldn't require application_top because the paths are all messed up. application_top wants to be called from the base ZC folder.

So then I realized while my other stuff needs to be in that folder, my file reading script does not. So I stuck in the base folder, required application_top, and boom, it worked. I don't even need to fiddle with .htaccess files.

So, um, I hope this is helpful to anybody else who needs to score the session, or the query factory object, or use other API features in a standalone script.

Wait a sec... I could have used the chdir command...? Sigh, *facepalm*. Is it Friday over yet?