Sorting data?

Based in the value of a radio selection in Form A, I then pull data from a particular field in Form B, loading into a drop down list on Form A. The drop down list on Form A into which the data is loaded has sorting specified, yet the data is not sorted when displayed. As a way around this problem I thought I might be able to specify the sort order on the only view available for Form B where the data is captured. But specifying sorting or grouping options did not help. Very clearly, it seems, the data in the table is abstracted from the view. Fine. I suppose that makes sense. But, after renaming some values in the form/table so as to make their natural order alphabetic, it seems the drop down list is filled in reverse order of that which is present in the form from which the data is obtained. Can I assume that the drop down list is loaded from the bottom of the table to the top or on what loading scheme can I rely on?

I would think that the sort specification on the drop down list itself (even if I am loading it dynamically) would override the order in which I 'add()' the data to the drop down element. Apparently not. Short of going to the trouble of having to write a sort routine and calling it on the data at the end of the 'on user input' function, how can the data be displayed to the user in alphabetic (sorted) order?
cwisniewski