Are you 100% sure that you are looking at the correct files?

And there is no other "amandad" installed somewhere else, which is invoked instead? Also, someone else with a similar problem had mixed

up the hostnames in DNS, resulting in connecting to his test setup
instead.  What is in the debug files on that client (in /tmp/amanda
usually).

I double checked and there is only the one amandad installed.

e.g.  you do have an environment with inetd on the server and xinetd
on the client.  Are you 100% sure that is what is invoked on the client?
When you replace the /usr/local/lebexec/amandad on the client with
a little shell script that writes some clear message in a debug file,
does it invoke that script?  As what user?

Thu Aug  3 06:55:11 EDT 2006
uid=507(backup) gid=509(backup) groups=509(backup)
 PID TTY          TIME CMD
13066 ?        00:00:00 amandad
Thu Aug  3 06:55:21 EDT 2006
uid=507(backup) gid=509(backup) groups=509(backup)
 PID TTY          TIME CMD
13070 ?        00:00:00 amandad
Thu Aug  3 06:55:32 EDT 2006
uid=507(backup) gid=509(backup) groups=509(backup)
 PID TTY          TIME CMD
13075 ?        00:00:00 amandad

Thanks,
Jeff