To answer my own question, I have now gotten my document
to print.

By:
(1) creating a rectangle the same size as the figure+caption/text box
object.
(2) popping this behind the figure/caption and doing the layout
formatting
on it.
(3) ungrouping the figure/caption and leaving the two objects (figure
and textbox) sat on top of the rectangle. The layout settings of these
two objects are now both "in front of text".