So, inspired by your answer – I tried the following, and it worked:
First, I dropped the animated GIF on the page. In order for it to do what I wanted it to do, as deliberately as I wanted to do it. I right-hand mouse clicked and turned it into a dynamic panel; then placed it properly within the layer and set the condition ‘OnPageLoad’ to be shown. That way, it tells the otherwise (unbeknownst to it) un-animated to behave in its normal animated state.
What is also interesting, is that I’ve been able to create-and-set conditions to make the GIF play once, and stop despite the fact that it’s a looping file.
Thank you for the inspiration, thank you for the help, and my situation appears solved!