Did you select the option [Generate new session id] when you open the SD packages? I did select that option and I had the same error on [Submit incident advanced] component etc. Try again to open the package but this time dont select the generate new session id option. Hope this helps.

thanks for the response. i didn't check that box (i sort of forget what that means but i think it creates a new "version" of the workflow but not really sure) I did retest by deleting the directory of the project i opened then opened the package shipped with ServiceDesk and did NOT check the box and got the exact same behavior. What is odd is that this worked fine one time (as i was able to make a customization and validate the entire workflow) and i haven't changed my environment so i don't know what happened, argh!