why does hiding label and calling dropdownlist make all of listitems go blank

dropdownlist are filled from the same table which is only used to fill 4 dropdownlists.  The values selected are stored in another table by soc sec. number.  I want the users to see what they selected the last time they edited their time sheet.
the first dropdownlist (this one shows numbers) has all of the numbers for a 24 hour clock; but I want to show what the previous choosen value was rather than starting with 0:00
I tried adding a label in the second dropdownlist then hiding it and showing the dropdownlist.  Problem here is that now the list is empty.
Did I miss something with the label? or is there a way of of reading the time sheet and choosing that same item in the drop down list and showing it as the starting value for the dropdownlist?   Example the default time to start work is 8:00, this shows up in the dropdownlist with the label in the label; is there a way to show 8:00 when going to edit mode instead of 0:00?
I would sooner the dropdownlist show the correct time without using the labels, but at this point any solution that works would be acceptable.
haven't written code to write selection back to other table yet.

suggestions?
gary
     <asp:TemplateField HeaderText="IN">          
                  <ItemTemplate>            
           
             <asp:DropDownList ID="DropDownList1" runat="server"  >                          
                 </asp:DropDownList>  
                 </ItemTemplate>        
             </asp:TemplateField>    

        <asp:TemplateField HeaderText="OUT">
           <ItemTemplate>
           <asp:Label ID="lblout" runat="server" Text='<%# Eval("EndTime")%>' ></asp:Label>
               </ItemTemplate>
                  <EditItemTemplate>
               <asp:Label ID="lblout" runat="server" Text='<%# Bind("EndTime")%>' Visible = "False"></asp:Label>
             <asp:DropDownList ID="DropDownList2" runat="server"  >              
                 </asp:DropDownList>        
          </editItemTemplate>
             </asp:TemplateField>

 Sub CustomersGridView_RowDataBound(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As GridViewRowEventArgs)
        Dim sqlfindhrsfill As String
       
        If e.Row.RowType = DataControlRowType.DataRow Then
            Try
             
                sqlfindhrsfill = "Select JobCode from testday "
                Using adapter8 As SqlDataAdapter = New SqlDataAdapter(sqlfindhrsfill, Connection)
                    Connection.Open()
                    adapter8.Fill(Dst, "Dsthrslist")
                   
                    Dim ddl1 = DirectCast(e.Row.FindControl("DropDownlist1"), DropDownList)
                    ddl1.DataSource = Dst.Tables("DsthrsList")
                    ddl1.DataTextField = "Jobcode"
                    ddl1.DataValueField = "JobCode"
                    'ddl1.SelectedValue = '<%# Bind("Starttime") %>'
                    ddl1.DataBind()
                    Dim ddl2 = DirectCast(e.Row.FindControl("DropDownlist2"), DropDownList)
                    ddl2.DataSource = Dst.Tables("DsthrsList")
                    ddl2.DataTextField = "Jobcode"
                    ddl2.DataValueField = "JobCode"
                    ddl2.DataBind()
                    Dim ddl3 = DirectCast(e.Row.FindControl("DropDownlist3"), DropDownList)
                    ddl3.DataSource = Dst.Tables("DsthrsList")
                    ddl3.DataTextField = "Jobcode"
                    ddl3.DataValueField = "JobCode"
                    ddl3.DataBind()
                    Dim ddl4 = DirectCast(e.Row.FindControl("DropDownlist4"), DropDownList)
                    ddl4.DataSource = Dst.Tables("DsthrsList")
                    ddl4.DataTextField = "Jobcode"
                    ddl4.DataValueField = "JobCode"
                    ddl4.DataBind()
                End Using
            Catch
            End Try
            Connection.Close()
        End If
    End Sub