The IRS Instructions for Form 8283 provided the complete answer to my question.
It says that you can usually deduct gifts of stock at their full fair market value, but there are some exceptions when you have to reduce the fair market value by the amount of any appreciation. TurboTax is trying to determine if you (the taxpayer) meet any of those stated exceptions, but the questions it asks don't do a good job of checking to see if those exceptions apply or not. That should be handled better before asking for the cost basis and the date of acquisition. If the exceptions don't apply (which they didn't for me), then those two questions are irrelevant and shouldn't be asked.
@MarilynG1
