Well, I don't have trouble actually editing the files, just with the two ships, the Anubis and the Amun. I'll post the examples of what causes the error:
$Name: PVB Amun
$Short name: VBomb7
$Species: Vasudan
+Type: XSTR( "Heavy Bomber", 1)
+Maneuverability: XSTR( "Very Poor", 1)
+Armor: XSTR( "Heavy", 1)
+Manufacturer: XSTR( "PVN", 1)
+Description: XSTR( " ", 1)
+TechDescription: XSTR( " «insert fluff text here»", 1)
$end_multi_text
The above allows the ship in game, but no text string.
$Name: PVB Amun
$Short name: VBomb7
$Species: Vasudan
+Type: XSTR( "Heavy Bomber", 1)
+Maneuverability: XSTR( "Very Poor", 1)
+Armor: XSTR( "Heavy", 1)
+Manufacturer: XSTR( "PVN", 1)
+Description: XSTR( " ", 1)
$end_multi_text +TechDescription: XSTR( " «insert fluff text here»", 1)
$end_multi_text
Making that change causes the error every shot, though all other player ships work correctly when in this format. I feel like I'm missing something stupidly obvious...
Thanks again for any light you folks can shed on this one!