I have not touched ssrs for a long time. I'm using sql server 2008 r2.
When I create a new tabular report with the wizard, at first the three columns show ok in the preview. As soon as I start adjusting the person's name column in design view so that they are wide enough for the name to show fully, rows start becoming blank in preview. It's a very peculiar behavior.
Sample Data
ID Name Role
1 Smith, Joe Clerk
2 Somelongname, Dave Driver
If I leave the columns very narrow, both rows appear, and the report rows are tall enough to show the wrapped last name (up to the comma)
If I widen the Name column so that it's wide enough to show the last name for "Somelongname, Dave", only that name appears, and while "Somelong, " is shown on the row complete (not wrapped), the first name is missing, and the row is tall enough for two lines, even though the second part is blank. All report rows that have shorter last names than "Somelongname" are blank.
If I widen the column a bit more, all rows are completely blank.