CCS and asm("nop") problem

Greetings --

I am using Code Composer Studio (Version: 4.1.0.02003) to try to build some code for an LM3S3748.  This will be tested on a development kit (LM3S3748 EVB).

For timing purposes, I need to be able to insert the occasional no-op instruction.  This is required to bit-bang signals out of some GPIO pins.  However, if I have the following statement:

asm("nop");

...more than once in a given source file, I get the following assembler error:

"C:\DOCUME~1\agage\LOCALS~1\Temp\0191211", ERROR!   at line 175: [E0300]
         Symbol nop has already been defined
        .dwpsn    file "../trunk/platform/lm3s3748/testfile.c",line 68,column 1,is_stmt

If I put that statement in a different file in the same project, it does not complain.  If I put it twice in any part of the same file, I get the error.  It looks to me as though the assembler is creating a new global symbol out of that statement, and is blowing up when it sees it again.

Since this is really nothing other than C code, I have also tried to build this to an i386 target using gcc under Linux.  I can compile, assemble, and link the same code there without any errors (or solicited warnings).  Thus I know that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with my code.  Obviously I can't execute it there because it tries to access memory-mapped registers directly, but it builds.

Any suggestions?  I have seen sample code posted here where people have had lots of asm("nop") statements that suggests I'm not off base.  Is there a delay function I should be using?  I need 20ns resolution in some cases (I have a very tight loop) so I cannot afford increment/test/branch where a no-op would do.

Thank you.