DURING CLB TO FL230 THIS MD80S FLC WAS INSTRUCTED AT LAST MIN TO LEVEL AT 17000 FT; BUT THEY WERE ALREADY PASSING THROUGH THAT ALT. SINCE THE FLC HAD THE TFC VISUALLY AND ON TCASII THEY DETERMINED IT WAS NO THREAT AND QUERIED CTLR; BUT APPARENTLY THE TFC SIT WAS BEING DISCUSSED BY CTLR WHO THEN CLRED ACFT TO CONTINUE CLB.

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DURING CLBOUT FROM DCA; WE PASSED NEAR AN ACFT WHICH WE BELIEVED ATC TOLD US WAS VFR. ALTHOUGH THE ACFT DID NOT APPEAR TO POSE A COLLISION HAZARD; ZDC APPARENT EFFORT TO PROVIDE US WITH SEPARATION CREATED A FEW SECONDS OF CONFUSION AS TO WHICH ALT WE SHOULD GO. THE SPECIFICS OF THE ENCOUNTER WERE AS FOLLOWS. WE WERE FLYING ROUGHLY WBOUND TOWARD LINDEN VOR AND WERE CLBING TOWARDS FL230. CLBING THROUGH 16000 FT; ARTCC CALLED OUT TFC AT OUR 10 O'CLOCK POS. TCASII ISSUED A TA. AS WE LOOKED FOR THE TFC; ARTCC; APPARENTLY CONCERNED ABOUT HOW THE SIT WAS EVOLVING; THEN INSTRUCTED US TO LEVEL AT 17000 FT. AT THE MOMENT THAT HE TOLD US TO LEVEL AT 17000 FT; WE WERE ALREADY CLBING DURING THIS MANEUVER; WE TOLD ARTCC THAT WE HAD THE TFC IN SIGHT. TCASII DID NOT ISSUE AN RA. BASED ON THE TCASII DEPICTION OF THE TFC; IT SEEMED THAT THE SAFEST ACTION TO TAKE WOULD BE TO CONTINUE OUR CLB. WE QUERIED ARTCC 2 OR 3 TIMES FOR CLARIFICATION OF OUR CLRNC; BUT ARTCC DID NOT IMMEDIATELY ANSWER. WE ASSUMED THAT THEY WERE DISCUSSING OUR SIT. WHEN ARTCC FINALLY DID ANSWER; THEY TOLD US TO CONTINUE OUR CLB TO FL230.