to help this along i encased everything in one rectangle. i also decreased the top and bottom margins to .15in in the master and sub. bottom line, word saves this report pretty much (tiny gaps) as i see it in rm, pdf saves it all messed up. i warned my peers not to save to pdf. and not to even save to pdf from word. just use word for now.
so this question boils down to this. it appears rectangles that contain tablix's cant be relied on to retain their original size (they dont even have a real one in properties) as the tablix's expand. my bottom rectangle needs to print as close to the bottom of the page as possible. i cant use a footer due to the master / sub relationship involved and the sub specific things that go into that bottom triangle. i got misled before but it looks to me like what i really need to do is fake rows in my tablix for white space that will push the bottom triangle downward.
is that my only option? is there a link i can use as a guide?