GREAT NEWS on the mosfet addition to the basic multivibrator circuit! Works like a charm! 
I used the basic circuit as posted 6 posts above, but with 150K resistors at R3 & R4. and the Vishay IRF540 mosfets. Used a couple of PAR16 style 12VAC led bulbs for testing, that give a load of about 600 ma each @ 12VDC. The speed is about 1 Hz, just what I wanted. The circuit starts and stabilizes immediately with no simultaneous lighting, no misses, and no speed jitters at all. Better than I had hoped for actually. I wish I could put a short video on here, but it's over 35 megs in size. Ouch.
Now if I wanted to be able interrupt the alternating and just have both leds on steady at times, would the best way to do that be a DPDT switch to jumper R1 and R2 resistors, so that both gates are held at 12 volts?
A few more minor refinements and it will be time to order boards. Yahoo. Big thanks to Stan and John and others for all the help and suggestions while I struggle through this exercise. You guys are great.
Rod
