Bill, to clarify.
Sounds like you have created the sketch ok. You need to select the text itself (which sounds like you are). Should look like this.
and after selecting ok…
If it does then you are on the right track. The next thing to check would be stock.
If you select the setup above the engrave path you should see the stock overlapping.
I have it shown offset on x here so you can see clearly. If this is not aligned to your modelled stock it could result in a zero tool path.
Let me know if that helps
