I agree that given the scenario you described that it doesn't make sense that itemized deductions would be better with no deductions entered into the return. The only items that are carried automatically to itemized deductions would be your state and local taxes withheld on your W-2. You might want to review the W-2 to be sure those values are entered correctly.
One more tip since you are using a CD/downloaded version of TurboTax. If you enter all of the information into a Married Filing Joint return, there is a What-If Worksheet that you can use to easily compare different filing options without needing to go into a separate return to enter the data.
Go to Forms in the upper right corner of the screen. Then in the upper left section, click Open Form and enter 'what if' in the forms search box to open the worksheet.
@Joe6801
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