I saw something like that when I re-arranged NICs. However, since the last time I did that on a Linux machine, udev had come along and MAC addresses now get remembered.
Wade.
Q:Is it proper to eat cheeseburgers with your fingers? A:No, the fingers should be eaten separately.
Yup, got bit by that udev thing over a year ago . . .
I think the first time was when Network Manager decided to reconfigure stuff. Cost me a few hours (I'd never heard of udev before) but the fix instructions have been in my config manual since then.