"import dbxml" hangs --- what to look for?

[Roger Espinosa]

I'm attempting to install dbxml-1.10 on OS X 10.2.8 (gcc3.x
prerelease, Python 2.3.2 built on same), and while everything builds
happily, when I try to invoke

    import dbxml

Python just ... hangs. I haven't been able to find this problem
described (there are matches for "popen" hanging, but the advice
doesn't seem to apply here).

Basically, I'm looking for a way an explanation of why this might be
happening, and whether there's a way to observe what's happening
inside Python...

Thanks.

Roger