Am I using dependencies the wrong way?

This is likely due to a manually set date on the successor task (the following tasks).  Do you see any blue triangles in the start date or due dates of successor items?  These manual dates will override the dependency.  I would recommend hopping on any of our Q&A webinars (http://webinars.clarizen.com) to get more tips & tricks on using dependencies.

Yep.  I was afraid that's what was causing the problem.   Thanks for the help!