Thank you so much. Yes, I "play" the mtn. dulcimer (I know how to, but I play piano more, so dulcimer gets less attention.) I use a D-A-D variant tuning (just transposed down). I can try out this information on the dulcimer. Hope it works. Perhaps it is just a curious instrument, as it seems the strings are backward, the fretboard is so far beneath the strings that it is so strenuous to play them; maybe someone just misassembled it--it seems like it came from a kit.
Thanks again.