I fixed this by deleting the entire Skype group, then re-launching. Was definitely trigger-shy on removing the entire group on Adium (not Skype!), but did it anyway. So apparently my issue was something about duplicates canceling maybe? When I re-launched, it loaded Skype contacts under a Skype group - no problem! YAY.

Using Skype 2.8 and the latest version of Adium. Able to use Skype just fine, save for the fact that my Skype contacts do not all show up in my Adium contact list. I can add contacts, and it will keep them for what seems to be one cycle of signing on/off, but will not show up again. I'd like to have ALL of my Skype contacts consistently show up on my Adium contact list. Help?