COUNTA counting blank cells?

Greetings;
Regarding Excel 2003.
I've a column of cells with the following: =IF(COUNTIF($B$2:$B$1328,B2)>=2,B2,"")
There are cells populated with "" , however when I use COUNTA to count non-blank cells it returns a value that includes cells populated with "". LEN(cellref), returns 0 and when I select the cell there are no hidden characters.

I've copied and Paste Special values; COUNTA still counts the empty cells as if there is some invisible cell content. However, when I delete an empty cell, COUNTA stops counting the empty cell (thereby working the way I think it should).

I can use COUNTIF(range,"?*") but I was wondering what I was doing wrong trying to use COUNTA to count non-blank cells.

Thanks in advance for any insights.