Conditional Merge coding is adding an extra character before each paragraph that is conditionally merged

I am doing a conditional Merge in Word. If program designation (from an excel doc) = xyz, then add this paragraph. If program designation =abc, then add this paragraph. When the document is merged with the excel list, the proper paragraph for that program designation gets inserted into the letter. However, it puts an "I" in front of the paragraph.

Here is a sample of the conditional formatting:

Any ideas why this is not working? Am I using the wrong conditional statements? If you have to insert a different paragraph based on a field in your excel doc, is the IF statement the correct one to use? Any help is appreciated.