IE7 Option Issue [ASAP]

I am creating a new Option and putting it in a select menu. The problem is that the TEXT property is not showing up in IE7. I end up seeing a blank option. The .text property can be used (by alerting option.text) but its not showing up. It shows up find in FF.

Here is how I create the option:
selectMenu = document.getElementById('possible_manufacturers');
newOption = new Option("Test",'test');
position = man_list.indexOf('Cannon');

shoveOption(selectMenu, newOption, position);

Here is the function I am using to put the option in the select menu:
function shoveOption( selectMenu, newOption, position ){
// {newOption} will be placed BEFORE the option at {position}
startLength = Number(selectMenu.options.length);
y = 0;

for(x=0; x<startLength; x++){
if( x == position ){
selectMenu.appendChild(newOption);
}

chosen = selectMenu.options[0];
clone = chosen.cloneNode(true);
selectMenu.appendChild(clone);

selectMenu.removeChild(chosen);
}
}

This line is so simple, and yet not working correctly:
selectMenu.appendChild(newOption);