Thanks. I agree and perhaps I should have said UP and DOWN. When our house was built, some three-way switches put the lights ON when the switches matched, Others put the lights ON when the switches were set one UP and one DOWN. My problem is that the three-ways in question used to work in one of these correct ways, and now, they only work when both sets are in the DOWN position None of the other 3 possibilities lights the lamps. I've replaced both switches, and it's still only both sets DOWN that turns the lights on. If I look at a diagram of one simple way the lights MAY have been connected, and assume that the wire from the panel is no longer connected to one of the switches, that could explain what I see. But, I don't know in fact how the wires were actually routed, so there could be a problem with one of the travelers. Doesn't seem easy to fix either way.

I've been spending days trying to change the 3 way switch to 3 way smart switch. I've already identified the line in box A and the load in box B. attached it to the common terminals in each box. When putting back on the dumb switches, no problem. Works like it always has. When putting on the smart switches, the light stays on and there's no power coming from source/line to box A or any of the wires in box B either, obviously. light just stays on and the switches do nothing. The only thing i can think of is, in box A, can't figure out why the white wire, in the 3 wire bundle with the 2 travelers, was the load in box B, but in box A, it is twisted with all the neutral wires. Then also in box A, what i expect would be the neutral (the white wire that came in the bundle with the black line wire) is nutted together with the line in from a different bundle for a different switch in the same two gang wall box. I'm almost a 100% sure it was like this the whole time before I even messed with it (however I did have a neighbor try to help and he rearranged a few things that I thought completely reversed). Also keep in mind that when I wire it back up the the dumb switches, it works fine. Some one please help. Photos attached.

Thank you so much for the comments! Yes, I researched the lutron Caseta Wireless and it is fantastic! Steve I understand where you are coming from, but in my situation where I wasn't around much for our build (I have a demanding seasonal job in Nebraska) i wasn't able to specify some things. Although, as my wife put it, a lot of it seemed to be common sense (like only having one location to turn on our great room lights and its in a corner, along with two other situations that are similar. In this situation, the areas where wire would need to be run would require ruining a lot of freshly painted drywall. The lutron caseta doesn't require a smart hub it can work stand alone with the provided pico remote, but if you want bells and whistles and want to control it with the lutron smart app or apple home kit (yes i tell siri to dim the lights for me) than you can with the purchase of lutrons smart bridge for 79.99 more. The in wall dimmer switch with remote is $60, smart bridge $80, or bundles together for $100. https://www.amazon.com/Lutron-Wireless-Lighting-Starter-P-BDG-PKG2W/dp/B01M3XJUAD/ref=sr_1_3?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1516080745&sr=1-3&keywords=lutron+smart+bridge

Did you get proper GE Z-Wave 3-way switches? https://www.amazon.com/GE-Wireless-Lighting-Control-Three-Way/dp/B0013V58K2 This FAQ may help: https://community.smartthings.com/t/faq-ge-3-way-wiring/74962 One option is to leave the non-GE switch in place and left in the ON position, thus leaving the GE switch always in control. But if you turn off the non-GE switch, the GE switch will probably no longer control the light. If that's okay for you, you can remove the non-GE switch entirely, twist the correct (!) wires together to force that side on, and put a blanking plate. However, if you have no neutral, you have a bigger problem. That's not uncommon in some older homes where the electric runs to the light(s) with live & neutral, but then only the hots run to the switches. I'm not aware of any current automation switches that'll work in this situation. Old X10 switches could. If that's the case you may be stuck looking for a module (if it even exists) that mounts inside the box housing the light fixture. I don't even know if that's an option with the current tech. You're starting to edge into "Advanced DIY" (or, as I like to say, mega-Nerd) territory here. Usual stern warnings about messing with electricity apply. :-) Post back if you solve it.