Here's what I ended up doing - I had to go around the tool's calculation. It appears that checking for errors will replace whatever you have in there no matter what screens you work with.
Let it error out there, pull up the actual form and put in the amount. If you are taking standard deduction, it's either 300 or 600 or the less of what you contributed. (please research that on your own if you're not sure of the number as I am not a tax advisor).
Once you put the correct number, don't run error check again if everything else is fine. Just ensure the actual number you intend is on the 1040 form on line 12b that is sent by verifying the pdf before the transmit to the govt.
