@kyle8TDFP wrote:
.... the hyphen .... I am entering it and it does drop off.
... and ...
....
Specify offset distance or [Through/Erase/Layer] <31'-5 5/8">: 31'-5
Select object to offset or [Exit/Undo] <Exit>: 5/8"
....
You're entering it in the wrong place. The above shows that you are putting it between feet and inches, and using a space between inches and fraction. That's where the hyphen needs to go. No hyphen between the feet mark and the inches number.
It is unfortunate that the way it displays the value [as in the default shown] is the way one would expect, but for typing-in purposes in this data-entry kind of situation it can't have a space. That's why it wants nothing between the feet mark and inch number [the feet mark makes the distinction clear], with the hyphen between inches and fractions so there will be no space. Type it in this way [as in @pendean's demonstration]:
31'5-5/8"
Picky little thing: You don't need to type in the inches mark [again, talking about data-entry-type situations, not something like text character content].
Pickier little thing: You can use a hyphen right after the feet mark, if a fraction follows with no inches:
31'-5/8"
is acceptable, and is the same as
31'0-5/8"
Kent Cooper, AIA