iphone doesn't sync properly with Address Book

My iPhone lists numbers in the format 123/4567890. This non-standard format was created by the iPhone, and does not change, whether I change the International format, or change the format on my desktop data file of Address Book. The "/" symbol causes a problem when interfacing with BMW bluetooth connections, so I must remove it.

I went to prefs in Address Book on my desktop and changed it so phone numbers would read as (123) 456-7890. All phone numbers in Address Book automatically changed to match that format. But when I sync'd to the iPhone, the format on the phone was unchanged: 123/4567890.

I then resync'd again, this time instructing the address book to be rewritten from the desktop file (ie, not a sync), but the format with a "/" persists.

How do I get the format in iPhone to match the (123) 456-7890 format? It is impractical to do this individually, there being 1,200+ contacts, and preferably, without having to wipe the iPhone and reinstall everything again, there being no reason to believe that the above won't recur...

 

the problem is in the syncing

The first thing I did, and wrote, was to try changing the International format. This is not a fix. The problem is in the syncing of data from the desktop. For some reason, the iPhone converts the data to this 123/4567890 unusable format.

Has anyone else seen this before? Any ideas?