the valuechangeEvent is happening and the list is built, it just isn't rendering back to the page:-
from logging:-

SelectInputText.setSelectedItem() clientId: iceform:AutoCmpTxt
SelectInputText.setSelectedItem() changed: false
SIT.decode() selIdxStr:
SIT.setSelectedItem() key: a
SelectInputText.setSelectedItem() clientId: iceform:AutoCmpTxtFace
SelectInputText.setSelectedItem() changed: false
SIT.decode() selIdxStr:
SIT.setSelectedItem() key:
in value Changed event
SelectInputText.broadcast() clientId: iceform:AutoCmpTxt
SelectInputText.broadcast() event: javax.faces.event.ValueChangeEvent[source=com.icesoft.faces.component.selectinputtext.SelectInputText@fb53f6]
SelectInputText.broadcast() ValueChangeEvent old: new: a

Keeps getting this exception:

29-Oct-2009 1:10:53 PM org.icefaces.application.showcase.view.bean.examples.component.selectInputText.CityDictionary generateCityMatches
SEVERE: Error finding autocomplete matches
java.lang.NullPointerException
at java.util.Collections.binarySearch(Collections.java:309)
at org.icefaces.application.showcase.view.bean.examples.component.selectInputText.CityDictionary.generateCityMatches(CityDictionary.java:151)
at org.icefaces.application.showcase.view.bean.examples.component.selectInputText.SelectInputTextController.selectInputValueChanged(SelectInputTextController.java:101)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:39)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:585)
at org.apache.el.parser.AstValue.invoke(AstValue.java:152)
at org.apache.el.MethodExpressionImpl.invoke(MethodExpressionImpl.java:276)
at com.sun.faces.facelets.el.TagMethodExpression.invoke(TagMethodExpression.java:98)
at javax.faces.event.MethodExpressionValueChangeListener.processValueChange(MethodExpressionValueChangeListener.java:144)
at javax.faces.event.ValueChangeEvent.processListener(ValueChangeEvent.java:134)
at javax.faces.component.UIComponentBase.broadcast(UIComponentBase.java:772)
at com.icesoft.faces.component.ext.HtmlInputText.broadcast(HtmlInputText.java:683)
at com.icesoft.faces.component.selectinputtext.SelectInputText.broadcast(SelectInputText.java:305)
at javax.faces.component.UIViewRoot.broadcastEvents(UIViewRoot.java:739)
at javax.faces.component.UIViewRoot.processValidators(UIViewRoot.java:1181)
at com.sun.faces.lifecycle.ProcessValidationsPhase.execute(ProcessValidationsPhase.java:76)
at com.sun.faces.lifecycle.Phase.doPhase(Phase.java:101)
at com.sun.faces.lifecycle.LifecycleImpl.execute(LifecycleImpl.java:118)
at javax.faces.webapp.FacesServlet.service(FacesServlet.java:310)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:290)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapperValve.invoke(StandardWrapperValve.java:233)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContextValve.invoke(StandardContextValve.java:175)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHostValve.invoke(StandardHostValve.java:128)
at org.apache.catalina.valves.ErrorReportValve.invoke(ErrorReportValve.java:102)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngineValve.invoke(StandardEngineValve.java:109)
at org.apache.catalina.connector.CoyoteAdapter.service(CoyoteAdapter.java:286)
at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Processor.process(Http11Processor.java:844)
at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Protocol$Http11ConnectionHandler.process(Http11Protocol.java:583)
at org.apache.tomcat.util.net.JIoEndpoint$Worker.run(JIoEndpoint.java:447)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:595)

Also get this exception intermittently:

29-Oct-2009 2:11:51 PM com.sun.faces.application.view.FaceletViewHandlingStrategy handleRenderException
SEVERE: Error Rendering View[/showcase.xhtml]
javax.el.PropertyNotFoundException: Property 'selectInputValueChanged' not found on type org.icefaces.application.showcase.view.bean.examples.component.selectInputText.SelectInputTextController
at javax.el.BeanELResolver$BeanProperties.get(BeanELResolver.java:193)
at javax.el.BeanELResolver$BeanProperties.access$400(BeanELResolver.java:170)
at javax.el.BeanELResolver.property(BeanELResolver.java:279)
at javax.el.BeanELResolver.getValue(BeanELResolver.java:60)
at javax.el.CompositeELResolver.getValue(CompositeELResolver.java:53)
at com.sun.faces.el.FacesCompositeELResolver.getValue(FacesCompositeELResolver.java:72)
at org.apache.el.parser.AstValue.getValue(AstValue.java:114)
at org.apache.el.ValueExpressionImpl.getValue(ValueExpressionImpl.java:186)
at com.sun.faces.facelets.el.ELText$ELTextVariable.toString(ELText.java:207)
at com.sun.faces.facelets.el.ELText$ELTextComposite.toString(ELText.java:148)
at com.sun.faces.facelets.compiler.CommentInstruction.write(CommentInstruction.java:70)
at com.sun.faces.facelets.compiler.UIInstructions.encodeBegin(UIInstructions.java:75)
at com.icesoft.faces.renderkit.dom_html_basic.DomBasicRenderer.encodeParentAndChildren(DomBasicRenderer.java:352)
at com.icesoft.faces.renderkit.dom_html_basic.GroupRenderer.encodeChildren(GroupRenderer.java:96)
at javax.faces.component.UIComponentBase.encodeChildren(UIComponentBase.java:848)
at com.icesoft.faces.renderkit.dom_html_basic.DomBasicRenderer.encodeParentAndChildren(DomBasicRenderer.java:354)
at com.icesoft.faces.renderkit.dom_html_basic.GroupRenderer.encodeChildren(GroupRenderer.java:96)
at javax.faces.component.UIComponentBase.encodeChildren(UIComponentBase.java:848)
at javax.faces.component.UIComponent.encodeAll(UIComponent.java:1610)
at javax.faces.component.UIComponent.encodeAll(UIComponent.java:1613)
at javax.faces.component.UIComponent.encodeAll(UIComponent.java:1613)
at org.icefaces.context.DOMPartialViewContext.processPartial(DOMPartialViewContext.java:122)
at javax.faces.component.UIViewRoot.encodeChildren(UIViewRoot.java:988)
at javax.faces.component.UIComponent.encodeAll(UIComponent.java:1610)
at com.sun.faces.application.view.FaceletViewHandlingStrategy.renderView(FaceletViewHandlingStrategy.java:368)
at com.sun.faces.application.view.MultiViewHandler.renderView(MultiViewHandler.java:126)
at javax.faces.application.ViewHandlerWrapper.renderView(ViewHandlerWrapper.java:273)
at javax.faces.application.ViewHandlerWrapper.renderView(ViewHandlerWrapper.java:273)
at javax.faces.application.ViewHandlerWrapper.renderView(ViewHandlerWrapper.java:273)
at com.sun.faces.lifecycle.RenderResponsePhase.execute(RenderResponsePhase.java:127)
at com.sun.faces.lifecycle.Phase.doPhase(Phase.java:101)
at com.sun.faces.lifecycle.LifecycleImpl.render(LifecycleImpl.java:139)
at javax.faces.webapp.FacesServlet.service(FacesServlet.java:311)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:290)
at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:206)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapperValve.invoke(StandardWrapperValve.java:233)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContextValve.invoke(StandardContextValve.java:175)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHostValve.invoke(StandardHostValve.java:128)
at org.apache.catalina.valves.ErrorReportValve.invoke(ErrorReportValve.java:102)
at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngineValve.invoke(StandardEngineValve.java:109)
at org.apache.catalina.connector.CoyoteAdapter.service(CoyoteAdapter.java:286)
at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Processor.process(Http11Processor.java:844)
at org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11Protocol$Http11ConnectionHandler.process(Http11Protocol.java:583)
at org.apache.tomcat.util.net.JIoEndpoint$Worker.run(JIoEndpoint.java:447)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:595)

There are also some bridge code errors sometimes. See screenshot-1.

Fixed. See http://screencast.com/t/W5eaaLgD.

There is a request param. called "ice.event.type" that is used in determining whether to populate the list. One of its values was "onundefined". It is now called "onunknown" by the bridge. Changed code to allow for this value.

There were also some intermittent side issues (see above comments) that don't seem to be related to this.

For id="iceform:AutoCmpTxt", when first accessing the autocomplete view, the popup with suggested matches does not go away after selecting a city (you have to click outside the popup to close it).
Also, once id="iceform:AutoCmpTxtFace" has been selected (and this one works just fine--no problems), then you go back to the first input to select city (iceform:AutoCmpTxt), it won't allow you to choose anything. The box just comes up (flashes) and down so user is not allowed to select anything.