A HUGE THANK YOU to all who have replied. Rather than multiple quotes, I'll just go through the list and answer questions that have been asked ...
The computer is the same computer upon which the Word.docx files have been created. I built 3 in '08, and they are all still running strong with no hardware problems. Oh, I have occasionally had to replace a fan in each, one power supply, a keyboard, a mouse, but the hard drives are the original ones I installed. Let me clarify the hard drives ... each computer has an 80 gb hard drive upon which is installed my operating system and the software for each one. The paging file has been set to a static size with the same "largeest" & "smallest" sizes, with a defrag done immediately after. I installed Windows, set the paging file size, did several consecutive defrags, then installed all my software. Once the software was all installed, I did another defrag (tho it was not necessary). Since then, I have never had to do any defrag, tho I check it a couple of times each year. I save NO data to that hard drive. I have a 1 TB internal SATA-III drive in an external SATA-III port - it is hot-pluggable. I have a second port that stays empty except when I am backing up my hard drive, at which time I take the oldest of my hard drives, compress the data, and then do a complete drag & drop from the permanent drive to the backup. The backup goes off-site and the next oldest one comes home for the next backup, about once each week. 1 TB drives are CHEAP!
So, the short answer to the question about transferred files is that they are the originally created files and I have never had any of them get corrupted.
As for "hidden" files. I have none. When I install the operating system, I set all parameters to display ALL files & leave none hidden. That way, I can see the temporary files created by MS-Word, along with any hidden system files.That makes it easier for me to delete any temp files if something happens ... like it's the one night each week that my computer does a shut-down & restart, AND I accidentally left a document open.
The short answer about residual temp files is that they do not exist. I do not know where the program is finding those file names, or if it is something it is creating when converting the files from .docx to .odt. And, no, I do not use $ in any file name. My file names are the recipe names. While I will use an occasional comma or appostrophe, I do not use any characters that have been commonly used as part of DOS commands or are otherwise illegal in file names (NO *, ?, /, |, \, etc.).
The file names found are similarly patterned beginning characters such as "$vids Chocolate Pie Crust" wherein the QUOTES are used in this example ONLY to show that the characters between the quotes are the file names that the program is telling me about. As a point of information, the original file name was actually "Davids Chocolate Pie Crust" and the $ is replacing the 1st TWO characters. Also, because all my hidden files are visible, I have checked MULTIPLE times in the folders being converted that have the ASCII Filter Options popup pop up, and there has never been any file that begins with the $ sign. I really have no clue where they are originating. I could post a screen shot of both the popup and the actuall folder in Explorer, but it would tell you exctly what I am saying. And, no, they do not start with -$, only with the $.
I think this answers the questions.
As advised, I an concentrating on the conversion process, and will worry about the template later. Something tells me I might be able to set my default template to the template file I created to match what I have in MS-Word, and that might allow me to open each file and have it come up in the 5.5"x8.5" format I want. BUT, I do not want to open up EVERY. SINGLE. RECIPE. to do this. I have not found anything about converting to a specific template, but I have not had much time to look.
Again, I TRULY APPRECIATE everyone taking the time to prod me in what I hope will be the right direction. I shall look at the links provided and see what I might be able to find to help me overcome this stumbling block. If I can figure out how to convert to a specific template, I will delete all the .ODT files and try it again, ESPECIALLY if I can overcome the ASCII Filter Options issue. THAT is my biggest stumbling block at this point.